Merry Christmas

As many of you know, the last few months have been busy for me. My daughter was hospitalized in early October. We came too close to losing her at that time. She has endured a great deal since then and has remained strong and determined. She is home and well on her way to being well. One more surgery in January probably to finish the process of getting things back to normal. For obvious reasons, I have been absent from the blog and creating as a whole. I have done what is necessary to get by for the last few months.

Now with the holidays upon us, I wanted to take a moment and say thank you to those of you that have been on this journey with me this year. I hope I have provided you some fun and useful projects along the way. I will be taking a month or so off to just regroup, recover and feed my creative side. I will then resume sharing my files and hopefully creating new ones or at least creating new projects to inspire you. I wish you all the Merriest Christmas and a safe, healthy, and prosperous New Year! 

Card Thickness Measurement Device

 As I have said so many times, I love to create layered card fronts. This means that when it comes time to mail them, I have to go into the post office to see if I need to add additional postage due to the thickness of the card. I noticed that they use a card with a slot cut in it to measure the thickness of the envelope. I decided that I needed one so I could calculate my postage at home and save the trip to the Post Office. I have posted the link to it on the “Card Making” page. I cut it from Kraft Board. I hope this helps you measure the thickness of your cards and decide whether you want to add the depth and pay the additional postage.

Card Toppers - Circle Sentiment

 

 

I love to create layered card fronts. I use many elements from Anna Griffin, such as her cutting dies and embossing folders. She has such a beautiful and elegant style. I have purchased her card bases and many of her card toppers. I have also purchased some of her image sets in DS. Although her card toppers are lovely, I often do not have just the right one for a card that I am creating.

In a similar style to hers, I have started creating some card toppers that I can use to create my own special cards. I am sharing the first of them with you today. This is the “Card topper with circle sentiment – print”. You will find this file on the “Card Making” page (link in the column to the left). This design includes a center circle that you can insert your message or greeting and utilize the print then cut feature of DS to create that part. The leaf flourishes are AG images. If you do not own them, you can simply delete them and create yours without, or add some swirls or other elements that you already own.
You can upload designs to embellish the layers, cut them from printed papers or even emboss them to create your own version. I also love to create dimension by using foam adhesive.

I hope you enjoy finishing off your beautiful cards with this versatile topper. 

Gatefold Easel Card

 

 

Today I did a test of a card file I recently created. I  utilized print then cut for the patterned paper. It is one of the ones I purchased on Etsy. These are pictures of what the cutting file includes.

This is the outside of the card

This is the inside when you first open it up

This is the inside when you prop up the easel
 

I could have done a few more things in Cricut DS to embellish the card, but for this one, I then finished it with some die cuts. I also tried using magnets for the first time. I placed a magnet on each side of the card between the layers on the front. Then I placed another magnet in each side of the bow. It serves as a decorative closure to the card, but does not get in the way when you open it up and stand it for display.

The outside with the magnetic bow

Inside

Inside with easel propped up

I will add a verse panel to the back of the card. 
 

The file is on the Card Making page with the name Gatefold Easel Card. I hope you love this card design and I look forward to seeing your version if you choose to create it!

Father's Day Cards

 

 

As Father’s Day quickly approaches, many are struggling to find the perfect male-oriented card designs. I have done several. I used the shirt card on several occasions. It is a fun and easy card to do.

I have done the toolbox card, an apron card, and a grill card as well. They work great for guys with those interests. But what if he isn’t into that?

I think my favorite card for male recipients (as well as kids and teens) is the pop-up box card. They are so easy to personalize for anyone! Take a moment, jot down a few things he is interested in. I recently made a birthday card for 26-year-old bachelor. This is what I had to do. He coaches baseball and football, he hangs out with friends, has a boxer puppy and when he was 2 years old, he was chased by a big white goose – which he still hates to this day!

I pulled out some Anna Griffin die cuts that included the football, baseball, liqueur bottle, and the football stats card. Then I searched for a boxer and a goose png. I uploaded those 2 images into Cricut Design Space and created a shadow layer for them. I cut out my pop-up box card file, did a little embossing of the layers and used some gilding wax to accent them, and then assembled the card. 

I have done several versions of this card; mostly for male recipients. Regular cards generally conform to a theme. The theme of these cards is the recipient, so you can easily mix and match images that apply to their interests.

If you are struggling this Father’s Day, give this card a try!

Easter Projects

 

Valentines crafting is behind us now. Easter will be the next big focus. I have a few projects to share for Easter ideas.

The first is a simple place card with bunny ears. A fun and easy way to dress up the table for Easter dinner. Since it is an easel-style place card, you could insert a special message inside and even use it as an Easter card for kids. (This project is labeled "Bunny Placecard")

Front

Back

The next project I did for Easter is this cute little bunny basket. I used some ink around the edges of the cut pieces to add definition, but otherwise, it is a simple design to create and would be fun to do with the kids too! This project is labeled "Easter Bunny Basket".

Front

Inside

Back

The final Easter project is an Easter version of the miniature candy bar gift card. I love this card for every occasion. It is easy to personalize with your message for friends, kids, or even the delivery people. (This one is labeled "Small candy bar card Easter")

Head over to the "Card Making" page (see link in the column to the left) and click on these files to get started on your Easter projects today! 

Christmas Quilt

I posted this on the embroidery page on January 13, 2021. I realized today that many of you are not seeing the other pages here.
On the left-hand side of this page, you will see a list of pages. One is labeled "Card Making" among others. When you click on one of those pages, it will take you to a new page on this blog. The card-making page is a list of Cricut Design Space Files for cards that I have designed and shared with you. 

I have not shared any of my recent embroidery projects. This is the king size quilt I just finished. It contains 2.88 million embroidery stitches on 80 blocks. Each block took just about an hour to stitch out. It is definitely my largest project ever!

Shutter Card

 

Lately I have heard many who are new at card making comments that they do not know where to start or that their cards do not look as nice as others do. Remember that we all started someplace. Honestly, in my opinion, some of the most beautiful cards I have seen are the simplest. Create cards out of love and they will be awesome!

Today I am sharing some birthday cards I made for upcoming birthdays. These three cards are all cut from the same file, which is posted here free under the name, “Shutter Card”. This card has been shared here before under the name Tri-fold Shutter card, but that file does not contain the mat layers.

This first card is quick and easy and yet has that wow factor. It was created from 1/2 sheet of 12”x12” white cardstock for the base, an 8 ½” sheet of patterned paper, and 3 4”x 6” pieces for the mats. I used a set of dies to cut out the words, “especially for you” and stamped the “Happy Birthday” sentiment. You fold the top row of scoring with the first one being a mountain fold, then a valley, then a mountain, and lastly a valley. The second row is a mountain and a valley fold. The bottom row is the same as the top. This card folds to a standard A2 size (4 ¼” x 5 ½”).

This second card uses metallics, shimmer, and glitter cardstock as well as embossing. It is a little more complex, but still not difficult. It was created with 1/2 a sheet of 12” x 12” white cardstock for the base. I used a gilding paste to add a slight sparkle around the folds and cut edges of the paper.  I cut mats and layers from remnants of matching glitter and mat metallic papers as well as some white shimmer paper. I embossed some of the pieces and layered them. I used dies to cut out the row of hearts the word “Celebrate” and the “Happy Birthday”. I stamped the center sentiment.

This third card has many of the same elements as the second card with the addition of the waterfall section in the center and the rounding of some of the corners. The mini waterfall card in the center is a die set. I may recreate this to be cut with the Cricut at some point in the future. I do have a file for a waterfall card that could be sized down to create a similar effect.

I hope this illustrates that the process of creating a card can be as simple or complex as you wish. When you start with an unusual card cutting file, you can look like a pro with extraordinarily little effort. Most importantly, enjoy the process and develop your own style!

Sherri's Quilt

 

A new quilt is in process. About 6 months ago, I purchased a mid-arm quilting/sewing machine and a quilting frame. I started using the machine immediately and have fallen in love. I had forgotten how wonderfully and consistent a mechanical machine sews. Since this is a straight stitch only machine, I am now on the hunt for a mechanical multi-stitch machine much like this one. I purchased this machine used so it is a few years old, but works great and has the features I was most interested in. It has the needle up/down option, a large reverse lever, a needle threader, and a thread cutter.

When I finish this quilt top, I will set up the frame, put my machine on the carriage and do some test quilting before loading this quilt on to finish it. I have always quilted on my regular sewing machine and am looking forward to working on a frame.

I don’t know the name of this pattern so I am calling it Sherri’s quilt since that is who I am making it for.  I saw an image of it a few years ago, saved it, and decided to make it. I have created a cutting file in Cricut to cut the fabrics. For this quilt, I cut mine with a rotary cutter and a mat since it wasted little fabric that way.

The link to the file will be on the other projects page. Just look in the column to the left to find the links. If you are interested in directions, just comment and I will add them.

Hello & Welcome!

 

January 13,2021

I know that there are many new visitors and followers due to my recent posts on Facebook. I want to let you know that I am retired due to Multiple Sclerosis and I do this as fun. I am a multi-crafter. I sew, machine embroider, make cards, scrapbook, make quilts, upholster furniture and many other projects that often include using my tools such as my Cricut Maker. I love sharing these projects so they may inspire others to tap into their abilities and Create beautiful things.
I try to post to the blog at least once or more a month. Sometimes I get too busy with a project and don’t. Sometimes my health is not cooperating, and maybe once this pandemic is over, I might go on vacation again. With that said, this is not a money stream for me. Yes, there is advertising on the blog. That helps pay for the costs associated with having my web site, etc. As I have mentioned before, I am not an affiliate for Cricut. I tell you this so that you know that I am just giving you my honest thoughts on Cricut and other products that I use.

I hope you enjoy my blog and are able to be inspired and use the resources I post here. Stay safe!

Quilt Square file added

 

January 13,2021

I am busy working on more new projects. Today I posted the DS link for the standard size quilt squares and half squares. I used my Cricut to cut the fabric for this quilt. I love that it cuts them to exactly the correct size and perfectly square. I precut my fabric to size and plan my squares to minimize waste. I hope this helps some of you out there!