Robots!

Even I can see that when creating my monthly treats for the OHM children, I tend ('Try always!' amends DH) to go for cutesy stuff!  So for my May contribution I settled on a non - cutesy Robot theme. 

I found this little treat bag on the Robot Party cart, which is part of the subscription, and sized it at 4.96 inches wide. 

When I went to cut the 24 bags, DS put 2 to a mat.  What?  It seemed there was plenty of room for a third bag on the mat.  Then I remembered a tip from one of my Facebook Cricut groups and quickly added a 12 inch square template to my mat.  I scooted two of the bags onto the template and then rotated a third and placed it carefully at the bottom.  Holding down the shift key, I selected all three treat bags and used the 'attach' button.  I did NOT attach them to the template and I deleted the square as soon I was certain that they would fit on the cutting mat.

Just for fun, I also cut the robot favors from the Robot Party cart and added two to each treat bag nestled in with the candy.  I have to say that they are actually very cute!  LOL   : )  Thanks for visiting with me today.  : )   Christine

Spotlight Stamping with MISTI

Time to share one of my MISTI cards!   I have a ton of 'guy' birthdays coming up and as you know, I have such a hard time restraining the urge to bling!  So, when I saw Jennifer McQuire's card using the latest Simon Says Stamp kit I rejoiced out loud and ran to get my MISTI out.

 Have you ever tried spotlight stamping before?  I cannot imagine doing this without clear stamps and a MISTI.  First, I folded a 5 x 5 card base and added the kraft and gold mat from the SSS kit.  I used my favorite candles from the Charmed cart on the Explore and while it was chirping away, I cut a white mat using a Little B stitched die and placed it inside the MISTI. 

I placed the candles on the mat in the MISTI and added the 'Make a Wish' stamp. I closed the lid and the stamp was perfectly positioned.   I inked it up, removed the die cut candles and stamped the mat.  Then, I replaced the candles, inked the stamp and closed the lid again.  Perfect! 

I lifted the candles again and replaced them using pop dots for dimension.  It was actually easy peasy to line them up with the stamped image on the mat because of the grid on the lid of the MISTI.  

Lastly, I used MISTI to position and stamp the birthday wish on the inside.  Done!  

I have to tell you that when I showed the card to DH, he said, "How did you DO that?"  Thank you Jennifer McQuire and MISTI!     I'm going try try this technique again, I think!   Thanks for visiting with me today.  : ) Christine

Blocks Pop Up Birthday Card

It was my 'baby' DD's birthday on Wednesday and we had a fun, casual dinner at a local restaurant to celebrate.  It included the obligatory 'Let's watch Master J. eat chocolate ice cream and take photos' event which is always a crowd pleaser!

I love the color palate of the Graphic 45 Celebration collection and went looking for a card style to showcase the sweet images and patterns. I found this video by papercrafter45.  Perfect!

Here's my card -

 I hand cut the card base but I'm sure there's a Design Space file somewhere, out there.   I also decorated the inside since I did not use double sided paper.  Woo Hoo! So many surfaces to embellish!

 Hope you had a lovely birthday KJ!  Thanks for visiting with me today.  : ) Christine

A Pretty Pink Purse!

My sweet, sweet DGD asked for gift cards and / or clothes for her birthday.  Oh no!  I HAD to visit a few of her (my) favorite stores to pick up the cards, including, as per her request, Michael's.  : )

I had pulled up the SVG Cuts Hobo Bag file on Design Space - I cut it for my sister's birthday last year - and saw that I would need at least two sheets of double sided card stock.  I usually 'shop' my stash, but since I was going to M's, I planned to pick up something extra special for Miss S. 

I fell in love with this pretty, dusky pink embossed paper from Recollections and found silk flowers that matched it perfectly.

I made gift card holders from the same SVG Cuts set.

The right paper makes all the difference, doesn't it?  And because in my head they are still 4 and 6 years old and unable to handle a gift to one, without something for the other,  I vinyled a mason jar with a split letter for DGD Gabby!  It took me three tries to get it reasonably straight.  : )  Thanks Narelle for the file!

 Thank you for visiting with me today.  Hope you enjoy spending your gift cards Sophia!   : )   Grandma Christine

"Home Sweet Home" Recipe Box

When I saw this wooden box, marked $2.94, standing next to the new Graphic 45 "Home Sweet Home" collection in my LSS, I knew my search for a new recipe box was over!

My sister is the Queen of decoupage and I knew to prep the box and paint it with acrylics before cutting out all those pretty images and mod podging them on the box.  It took me FOREVER, mod podging and cutting, arranging and mod podging before I was happy with my box.  And if you've ever seen any of my sister's 'stuff' you'll know I was totally channeling her style!  LOL

So now, nothing in my house is safe from vinyling or mod podging.  DH had better not fall asleep in his armchair again!  (Insert evil laugh!)   Thanks for visiting with me today.  I'm off to celebrate with my DGD who reaches double digits today.  How did that happen so fast?    : ) Christine

Hapbee Belated Birthday Card

One of my on-going projects since the arrival of my Explore, has been the recreation of the basic cards I had on my Gypsy.  I had been playing with this bee-lated birthday design for a while before realizing, last week, that I desperately, immediately, positively, needed it right then!

I had added the hexagon overlay from CTMH Artbooking and as you can see, I had welded it to a  square to make a shaped mat for the front of the card.  Well, nope!  That did not work, so back I went into Design Space and started again.  This time I created a 5 inch by 10 inch rectangle and sized the hexagon overlay to fit within the front edge of the rectangle.

Decision Time!  Do I WELD it to the front edge, or use the SLICE tool to cut away the interior hexagons?   I have to say that both cards looked pretty cool.

I chose to weld, but first, I had to use the contour button to remove the four interior pieces along the edge.

Of course, once the two pieces were welded, it was no longer 10 inches long, and as I discovered,  resizing distorted the hexagon shape and the original hexagon overlay would no longer fit nicely.  Thank goodness for the UNDO button!


The card was now 10.41 inches wide, so, I created a .41 inch wide rectangle and positioned it at the left side of the card, I used the SLICE button to restore the card base to 10 inches wide.  (Seems like a lot of extra effort, doesn't it, when I could have removed .41 inches with my trimmer? LOL!  However, this is a card I will make several times, so I wanted it to be properly designed.)

And here is the finished card:-

and the interior: -

Now this card is on Design Space, I can change the way it looks with different papers and embellishments.  Lets hope that I don't have to use it too often!   Thanks for visiting with me today.  : ) Christine

Happy Easter!

The Easter Bunny was here!   And this is why you need a stash of every color of HTV - you never know what color you will need when the urge to vinyl something comes along.

 Here's Cocoa 'guarding' the loot!   Poor little puppy is trapped inside until all the eggs have been found in the yard.     Happy Easter everyone!   : )   Christine

Poor Cocoa!

He was so lonely on his first camping trip over Spring Break without his 'brother' Sam!  My sister came to visit with Cocoa's 'cousin' Yahtzee and he just perked up so,  I can see another puppy in our future.  : )

Here we are on the beach, walking the 'cousins.'  

And here is Master J. flying a kite with Grandpa.

 Lovely, lovely week.  Thanks for visiting with me today.  : )  Christine

Easter Treat Baskets

This past week has seen a 'down sizing' event chez nous!  We traded in our Denali RV for a smaller Lance Camper - now named Elsie (LC  yes?)  : )   One of my criteria in selecting Elsie, was that she has a large enough dinette table to craft on and handy electrical sockets to plug in the Explore.  Despite being perfect in this way, storage in Elsie is a little tight and I have had quite the time fitting everything in ready for our first trip next week.

I found time to make the monthly treats for the children at OHM.   This year I used a little egg shaped basket from SVG Cuts enhanced with glitter card stock and tulle ties.

On the back, I added a stitched die tag from Simon Says Stamp, and a print-then-cut bunny from Create a Critter 2.   Cute!   As I laboriously stamped the Happy Easter sentiment on the tags, I dreamed about the day (coming soon!) when this task would be super easy thanks to the Misti! 

 Thanks for visiting with me today and enjoy your Spring Break!   : ) Christine

Iris Fold Cards

I am totally fascinated with the iris folding technique but despite many attempts, I've not been able to do it!  Then, while browsing the SVG Cuts store, I discovered that Mary had found a way to make it easy enough even for me.  : )   So, this is what I've been playing with all week:-

I used text weight paper, rather than cardstock but even so, I found that I needed to insert pop dots when I matted the front.  Here's a closer look at the heart shape card suitable for a wedding, or anniversary.

Then I attempted the flower shape card and this one was trickier because there are 5 different papers to manage.   This works for a birthday, I think.  I made a mistake with this one but didn't notice until it was all put together.  : (

Mary suggests this smaller flower card as a sympathy card, but I think, with a different sentiment and brighter colors it could work for a birthday too.  I like the shape of this card.

Lastly, I worked on the 'Congratulations on Your New House' card.  I love the iris swirl on this one.

There is one more card in the svg set - a baby buggy card - which is very, very cute but not a true iris fold card.  Gonna need that one soon!


This set is well worth the $6.99 and can be found here.  I've seen some very cute variations on the cards on Pinterest including Halloween and Christmas versions of the house card.  Best of all, I did it!  I made an iris fold card and it was FUN!    Thanks for visiting with me today.   I have to run, Master J. wants a walk in the 'forest!'   : )  Christine

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Here's my version of the SVG Cuts St. Patrick's Day tankard filled with rolos, tattoos, and a gift card for the DGDs.  The girls' Great Grandpa was Irish and today is a special one for them.

This is my second 'try' at this tankard because I could not get the top to fit properly and look neat.  So I cut an extra piece for the top and covered it all up! 

The gift bag is adorned with a print then cut image from the Seasonal Characters digital set and a border punch from Martha Stewart.   Easy peasy and cheap because, thanks to Charlotte's post here, I am saving up for a Misti!

Thanks for visiting today and Health and Happiness t' ye all!   : )   Christine

Leprechaun Trap!

Pop over to the BBTB2 blog and see if you can spot the DT card that inspired the one I made!   Right!  It's the adorable fairy in the birdcage created by Kelly.  However, with St. Patrick's Day just around the corner, it seemed to me that it should be a leprechaun in the cage, rather than a fairy.  And here he is!

Lucky Leprechaun comes from 'Seasonal Characters' and is grinning because he knows that with a little shamrock magic he will be out of the birdcage trap in a twinkling!

The birdcage comes from 'Creative Cards' and the pot of gold on the inside comes from 'St. Patrick's Day.'  The sentiment stamp comes from CardzTV.

This was such a fun challenge over at BBTB2.  It was so easy to find the images I wanted in Design Space that even if I did not have the Explore, I would probably use DS as a search engine!    Thanks for visiting with me today.  : ) Christine

Notes to self on using iron-on vinyl with the Explore

Here in the PNW it feels almost like T-shirt weather!  I've been reading up, watching videos and taking a class on using vinyl so that I can make cute T-shirts for my family.   Here are my notes to self and a picture of my very first finished shirt.

*   Heat Transfer Vinyl SHRINKS!  Choose a design with as few layers as possible.   This Create-a-Friend character has 2 full length body layers, and one layer with everything except the head.  Beneath the yellow boots lie layers of black, skin tone, blue, and a second layer of black - none of which shrank at the same rate.  See?

Don't forget that Design Space has a T-shirt shaped canvas that really helps when laying out a design.

*  The iron - on setting is on the dial NOT in the custom menu!  (No need to explain the reason for this note to self!)

*  Mirror every mat BEFORE messing around with the placement of the cuts.

*  With HTV, the shiny, carrier side goes on the mat.  The Explore cuts through the vinyl but leaves the carrier side intact.  Even if it's not the same color, put the shiny side down on the mat.

*  Trim the vinyl around the cut to make it easier to layer your cuts on the T-shirt.

*  The carrier is sticky so weed out the unwanted bits like the eyes or the middle of the letters before pulling off the rest of the vinyl.  (I only managed to remember to do this once and had to take a picture 'cos I might never remember again!)

*  The sticky carrier makes it easy, peasy to layer the vinyl, but remember it SHRINKS!  Layer from the bottom upwards and the cape goes on FIRST.

*  Decrease pressing time for bottom layers, but give everything a good press through the pressing cloth when the final layer is attached.


So, when I finished the shirt for Master J, I immediately ordered more vinyl from ExpressionsVinyl.com!  I had some red and black scraps left over and I cut out a ladybird that I adhered over a spaghetti sauce stain on a favorite shirt of mine. It's wearable again and very cute!  I am hooked. 

Thanks for visiting with me today.   : )   Christine aka Captain Chaos' Grandma!

Fishin' Cards

Just a quick post to share a couple of the note-cards I am making for the annual auction at DH's fly tying club.  All the cards are made from kraft cardstock in the hope that this 'ties' the collection together! 

Thanks for visiting today and be sure to come back tomorrow to see my DT post for Sheila at She's a Sassy Lady.   : ) Christine

Floral Birthday Box Card

Sometimes it's just so much fun to throw everything on and enjoy the razzle dazzle!  

The card in a box comes from SVG Cuts and is one of the Box Cards set.  The paper is (mostly) from Graphics 45 Secret Garden and the pearls are from Bo Bunny. 

Thanks for visiting with me today!   : ) Christine

Spring Banner

The challenge at my local Craft Warehouse this month was to create a Spring Banner using 3 assorted chipboard banner pieces and a piece of lovely double sided paper.  My idea was to combine the chipboard pieces to make a cartoon-y bird and perch it on top the banner.  It would be sooo cute, I thought.

And then I found this pretty green paper from My Mind's Eye, and used it to cut banner shapes from Pretty Pennants.  I designed cartoon-y pots of flowers from Walk in my Garden to add to the pennants but ughhh, they did not work.  (Has that ever happened to you?) 

Back I went to Design Space and sigh, one more time, I pulled up Art Nouveau.   Just the flowers I was envisaging!  So no cute cartoon-y bird, no cartoon-y flowers and no challenge!  Ah well, there's always next month's challenge and I just loved looking at the banners the other crafters created.  Wow!  Here's my banner:-

Lots of green here with a pop of yellow, red, blue and purple.  The butterflies on the end medallions were printed on my printer then cut on my Explore.  This is such a time saver with teeny cuts like the butterflies.

I am linking my banner with  challenge # 246 at the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog
and the Green Linky party at Craftin' Desert Divas.   You HAVE to pop over to these two sites and take a look at the inspiration from their Design Teams!

I also entering my banner in the Decorate to Celebrate 3D challenge # 95.  Oh my!   What wonderful projects over there!

Thanks for visiting with me today.  : )  Christine