Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Acrylic Magnetic Frames

Here are some quick things I did tonight. They are those magnetic frames for the fridge. I decided I wanted to decorate them up and will use them as gifts.

I used some rubons on two sets on the other I used some ribbon. And as you can see I flowered them all up.

Anywho I think these will make nice little gifts for people! And not expensive at all!!

Monday, September 29, 2008

And the 3rd mailbox

After this one I only have one more to do. WHEW! But wish I had about 10 more! These are just too fun to alter! I once again used a K & Company pack. I think this one is called Chocolat, but don't quote me on that. The butterfly is from the Cuttlebug Tag Team set and is cut from a foil pan. The flowers are Primas and I have a variety of bling used. The bloom where you are planted is from the K & Company pack. The brown paper on the front and the flag is something else, but I don't know what since I just used scraps I had. I used a ribbon buckle and some brown velvet ribbon which you might be able to see better if you click the picture.

I did mess up at first and had the words upside down on the side where the decorations were suppose to go but I just poked a hole and put the flag on the opposite side, easy peasy! And now no one will know! Well guess they will if ya'll tell them, but I know ya'll won't........will you?? *okie wonders*

I can't believe how fast these go. Had I started sooner tonight I probably could have gotten the other one done. Oh well as long as I get it done before Wednesday night before "Dirty Sexy Money" comes on I will be okay. I LOVE THAT SHOW!!

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Altered Mailboxes

I picked up a few mailboxes at my LSS that were on clearance. I made sure they were big enough to hold A2 greeting cards as I plan on using them as gifts for people.

This first one is using some Fancy Pants paper I had. I did darken the swirls that were on the paper by using a Fantastix and some Tim Holtz Distressed Ink. The flowers are Primas and the butterfly is from the Cuttlebug Tag Team set. I added rhinestones to the end of the swirls and in the flower centers.









This one is with a K & Company pack I have had for awhile now. The post cards and such are punchouts from the pack. I used some gingham ribbon and a prima flower at the bottom. The little butterfly is the Martha Stewart butterfly punch. I double layered the butterfly to add extra dimension.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Cricut Cart Box available for download

I have had a few requests for the cut file for the CRICUT CART BOX so I decided to post the file for download. The height is 2.5 inches. I am not going to lie and post measurements of the rest because I just don't remember and right now after adding my ladybug stamp to like 6 dozen or more cards I am just too darn lazy to go over there and measure them....don't ya appreciate my honesty? HA! The carts do fit in there snugly and won't fall out. I am really liking this storage solution for my purposes.

Someone asked what I did with my layovers and books.....well I don't use them since I use DS so they are in their respective boxes, and all stored in a big box that my friend LGuild gave me. THANKS LINDA!

To assemble fold on all the scored lines, which will be cut for you. You can just line it up and fold, no need for a bone folder *is that what it is called?* for this. Apply adhesive *I used my ATG gun* to the side flaps on the back side and then apply adhesive on the front side bigger flaps.

Fold the smaller side flaps up and then fold the larger flaps to the back of the box.

If anyone has problems just let me know and I will cut one and take pictures of how to assemble.

Oh and I did use a corner rounded just because I thought it looked better.

This file is made to cut 3 boxes at a time.

THE BEST STAMP EVER!

Well okay it is the best stamp ever if you like ladybugs and you are okieladybug!! *okie cracks up laughin*. Brandilynn from the Cricut MB pointed out this cute stamp to me a few months back and I loved it! I just kept looking at it and looking at it and decided I did need it! I will now be able to stamp all my cards and any swaps I do with this cute little stamp!! The stamp measures about 1 5/8 across. It is big enough to read and yet small enough that it doesn't overpower the back of a card.

If you would like a personalized stamp you can check out Stamp Out, which is the place mine came from. Lisa has a ton of stamps to choose from but she can also do custom work. She was very quick to ship!!

Sunburst Card

I didn't really know what to name this card and I had to name it something since I made a cut file for it. So I went with SUNBURST CARD. I made the file to cut 4 at a time since ya know by now I figure why make just one! I used only the George cartridge for this card. The file mats are labeled....PP means printed paper and SC means solid color. But of course you can do it however you want. I just needed to label it so I would remember. The LO came from PageMaps. You lay the full mat, then the bottom mat then the side mat.

I used the Numbers, Distressed Stripes and Spots and Dots *I think it is called* Cuttlebug folders.

The Happy Birthday was printed from the computer using MS Word Text art. I did the printer trick to get it to print on the circle. Which is I get it the size I need in Word, print it on plain paper, then used the herma dotta repostionable runner to tape the circle on top of the printing on the regular paper and then ran it through the printer again. I LOVE THIS METHOD!! Makes it nice when you don't have the just right stamp!

As you can see I used a small brad to attach the sunburst to the card. Oh yes, and I inked the edges but I bet ya'll surprised by that now are ya! HA HA HA!! It was pretty fast to put together and I think I like this one!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Get Well Soon

I don't really have any Get Well cards and with flu and cold season coming up I thought I should start making some.

I got 3 of these done tonight. I just kinda played around with paper and wasn't sure I was going to like it until it was all done. The Get Well Soon is from Beyond Birthdays. When I was thinking I wasn't going to like it my daughter came in and said "WOW! I LIKE THAT" so I decided I liked it to!! HA HA HA!!

I used some flowers that Tess from Paper Patch Crafts sent me. I layered a white, then blue and then added a little lime green flower. The black center on the flower is some kinda jewel thing I got in a bag of jewels years ago. The black band is satin ribbon. For the mat on the Get Well Soon I my Purple Cows cutter with the deckle blade, which is my favorite!!

I think this card is kinda cheery looking. I wasn't sure with using the black but I think it works. Oh the big mat is from a My Minds Eye stack, not sure if it is from Everyday Tango or from Magnolia, but it is from one of those.

Cart Organziation....

I decided I wanted something neater for my carts and I wanted to see the cart name without having to lift up the pockets in my Plaid Spinner. You can click on the pictures to see them closer.

So I got busy on DS and designed this cart box to put my carts in. I had to do the names in MS Word and just print them and glue them on since I didn't have any little labels. I thought I did but not sure where they went to. I used some of the folders that LGuild gave me, since she gave me a whole box of them I had plenty to work with. I made some extras so when I get new carts I won't have to cut new boxes and will have them ready! Oh and I did use my corner rounder punch on them after I glued the names on the box.

Here is a close up picture of the boxes. As you can see they fit in there snugly and won't fall out. I think I am going to like this just fine!! I think the corners rounded look better than just the square corner and it wasn't a problem to use the corner rounder. The file folder is a good weight since it is heavy.

Return of the Pocket Card

I wanted to try my POCKET CARD as a regular card without all the ghosts and spiders so.....this is what I came up with. The paper is from a K & Company stack and the staying on the front was a punch out from the stack. I do have to admit I like this card. I know I know there are more things I could have done like sewing or embossing, etc........BUT I AM LAZY!! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW? I ADMITTED IT!! However....I did use some flourish stamps to jazz it up a little. The flourish is from an Autumn Leaves set.








Here is how the card looks open. As you can see I stamped on the inside too! The Happy Birthday is from an Inkadinkadoo Birthday Circle Stamp. Oh yeah and I doodled. I think I doodle just so I can say the word....it just kinda cracks me up!! *okie must have sniffed too much zig pen today because she is just down right talkin crazy now*. You can see the velcro dot on the left hand side of the photo, that is what I use to keep these little handy dandy card closed.

As you see the mats are blank. AND! there is a reason for this! *who knew okie had foresight, okie sure didn't* I plan on using this one for when I give a gift card. I can use the herma dotto repositionable runner to adhere a gift card to one of the mats and then I can use the other mat for writing my own personal birthday message.

Front and Center

Well if ya have read the blog lately you know one of my new haunts is Sheetload of Cards. Today I thought I would give the Front and Center card a try. It is from the May 2008 issue of their Ezine, and you can download the instructions for free. The instructions are for 6 cards but they do have instructions for a single card.

I have been making so many Christmas and Halloween cards lately I thought I should make a few birthday cards. I used the cupcake from the Celebrations cart. I LOVE THAT CUPCAKE!!

Notice the different color mats? Well yeah....I was on the phone and messed up my cuts so had to use two different colors. But I think they still turned out nice.
Here are a few close up photos.

On this one I used the paper from where I punched for the eyelets to decorate the "icing" of the cupcake. I thought it made it look like it had those little hard candies on the icing. Oh and I did ink the paper on this one to add more dimension.....well okay I confess. After I had it done I realized the color blended in with the mat and kinda got lost, that is why I inked it. If ya click on the picture you can see the cupcake "paper" better. I used mulberry paper and glued and folded on the lines that cuts for it. I think it gives it a nice dimension. I used the Numbers cuttlebug folder on the mat. Of course I used my trusty Colorbox Cat Eye Inks.






On this one I used the Distressed Cuttlebug folder, I have to admit it is one of my favorites and don't think it gets enough credit! And do you see Stickles? Of course you do! HA HA HA Yeah I couldn't resist. I think I might have over doodled on this one, but too late now!! I did use some of my precious brads on the cards. I told my friend Scrappinbee that I was gonna start using stuff more and stop thinking "OMG IF I USE IT I WON'T HAVE IT ANYMORE". I mean afterall we buy the stuff to use it so why do we hoard it? *okie sighs* I know I know I have asked this question many times before and one day I hope to find the answer! BUT.....in the meantime if ya'll find the answer please share it with me!

Chicken anyone??

My MB friend Scrapnic asked if I could make her some CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS and I told her I would try. Well I thought they looked like they would cut okay but my goodness!! What Nic did with them was amazing!! She used sand to make the "breading" on the chicken and they look amazing!! The drumsticks are approximately 3.25 inches from top to bottom. I dunno who that baby is in the picture....BUT WHAT A SWEETIE!! The file also includes a shadow mat if you need shadow chicken. Thanks for sharing the pics Nic *okie cracks up because she made a rhyme* and now I am hungry for some chicken!!

Monday, September 15, 2008

A few simple cards...

Well I was going to say there was no Cricut or Cuttlebug on these cards but there is! LOL I wanted to do some simple easy cards and these are the ones I came up with. The sentiments are Studio 112 and some Basic Grey. The paper is from some Basic Grey 6x6 mats and then also some card stock.

This first one does have a butterfly from the Cuttlebug Butterfly Tag Team set. I just LOVE LOVE LOVE.....did I say LOVE? these butterflies!! It is chipboard. I used some glimmer mist on it then used alcohol inks. I just found some paper that matched the butterfly. It was a very simple card to make and got the idea for the layout of it from Page Maps. If you haven't tried that site you should! IT IS TOTALLY AWESOME!! And is listed on my favorite places! The dots along the card are a silver gel pen. I had a hard time not adding more things to this card but I wanted it simple so I resisted....but it was very hard!! Sometimes I think I just continue to add stuff until it ruins the project. I know there is NO ONE else that ever does such a thing.......RIGHT??

This card does have some leftover photo corners from Jasmine. I layered them for effect.....okay actually I couldn't decide which color I wanted to use so I just used both! hee hee hee I did add a little bling to the card. I am trying to do better about using my supplies and stop the thinking mode of "OMG IF I USE IT I WON'T HAVE IT ANYMORE". I have to tell myself that I can always get more if I need to. The rubon is from a Basic Grey set. The inking is NOT cat eye. It is actually a cat eye pad that went dry and I now add some Tim Holtz walnut distressing ink to the pad. My LSS owner gave me this idea and it works great!! However I have been known to put too much ink on the pad and make a huge mess....but we won't talk about that. At least I won't. So....ssshhhh!!

Okay not sure if you can see it or not but the rubon says LAUGHTER. I used a Prima flower on this one. For the center I cut a chipboard circle and colored it with some cat eye ink and then embossed it. Well I didn't like how it looked so I added some Glossy Dimensional accent.......didn't like that either so I added Stickles.....FINALLY I LIKED IT! LOL The charm is one I got years ago at Wal-Mart during my Christmas Stocking phase *side note: Christmas stocking phase was when I made Christmas stockings with material scraps and added ribbon, charms and whatever suited my fancy at the time...now back to the regular scheduled blog post* The 3 small dots at the bottom are Robin's Nest accents. My friend Scrappinbee sent me a few bottles of those and THEY ARE LOVELY!!

I did use the Threading Water punch on this one.....have you ever thought about the name of that punch? It doesn't look a thing like water, nor does it look like it is thread....not sure where they got the name....but I do like the punch!! I got the ribbon buckle in a pack from LTD commodities. It is the first time I have used one.....and I like it.....what do you think of it? I cut the oval with one of those Fiskar templates and then also cut one on chipboard. It is pop dotted and stands up from the card. I used the cat eye chalk ink on this one. I am really loving the Olive Pastel!! Oh yes...and there are two little pieces of bling. I think this one makes a nice birthday card with the sentiment on the front!!


Oh and don't forget......if you have a hard time seeing the details you can click the picture and it will open up bigger for ya!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Pocket card........Halloween!!

I had made this POCKET CARD file some time ago but just got around to using it last night. I am still using some of the scraps my LSS owner gave me so I decided to make another Halloween card...because I SEND SO MANY *okie rolls eyes at self and wonders why she keeps making them since she has never sent a Halloween card before in her life*. I just sized my objects to the where I was going to use it on the card then copy and pasted onto a new mat for making the Halloween version. But the version for download is just a plain version. So you can add what you like, or add nothing at all.......totally up to you! *okie hopes everyone likes the versatitilty of the card files she makes*

BUT!! If you want to make this particular card you can download the POCKET HALLOWEEN CARD. All of the work is done for you! *okie grins big* The carts used are George, SYI, PDDU and Paper Pups. If you don't have all of those then you can just delete what you don't need and add what you do.

So anyway here are the photos. I used Paper Doll Dress Up for the web and the spider. I did add a pop dot under the spider. OH yeah.....this is an A2 card so fits in a standard size envie. But with all the stuff it will require extra postage because it is over 1/4" thick. I used a velcro dot to keep the card closed and added some Scotch 2 way glue to make the card stay closed.








This is how it looks opened up. I used Paper Doll Dress Up for the Ghosts and fence. The jack-o-lantern is with Stretch Your Imagination and the BOO! is from Paper Pups. And I doodled, then I doodled, and then doodled a little more HA HA HA! Of course I had to ink it! My two staples of scrapping and card making.....INK AND STICKLES! LOL





Here is what it looks like with the tags pulled out. Now you can see the fence. I left one tag blank so writing could go there. The mats and ribbon are purple, but kinda look blue to me in the photo.....WHAT IS UP WITH THAT?? You can see the velcro in this picture. Oh if you click on the picture it will show the larger version and you can see the detail better, especially the fence.

Anywho....hope ya'll enjoy the card!

Saturday, September 13, 2008

A couple more fall cards.....

I finally finished with the 6 Square3 cards. Not posting all of them because some of them are like the ones I already have done.

BUT......this one I really like! I used raffia! *okie thinks to self....yeah okie they can see that it is raffia* I did punch holes and set eyelets for the raffia to got through. I think it just adds the perfect dimension for fall! I stamped the pumpkin on the off-white square and then stamped another one and used foam mounting squares to add it over the one on the square. The tree is a Marvy punch and it is also on foam mounting material. The stamps are from the Studio G series 20 set. The fall ones were the only ones in that series I really liked and thanks to Grits4ever I am having a blast with them!!



This card is with the cuttlebug A2 folder Autumn Blessings.....or Autumn words.....can't remember LOL. I used stickles and ink on the card. I got the leaves at Wal-Mart a few weeks ago. They were $1.00 for a package of 80, GREAT PRICE!! I did some brown ink on the leaves to give them a more weathered effect. And yes........STICKLES! *okie grins and nods head* I know you guys are surprised to see Stickles! HA! Okay my friend Scrappinbee just informed me the folder is called "Autumn Embossing Folder". Thanks Bee!! *wonders if everyone knows what the Bee really stands for.......okie now thinks that Bee is gonna wanna whoop okie if she reads this* I don't like the platinum stickles on the embossed leaves in the picture.....but in person they do look better!! I PROMISE!!

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Fall is in the Air

Okay okay not quite yet........but it isn't too early to be ready now is it?? OF COURSE IT ISN'T!

This is another Square3 card *.cut file posted in another post*. I used some of the Studio G stamps that Grits4ever sent me *okie cracks up everytime she says that name*. The tree at the bottom is a Marvy punch. My LSS owner got this punch last week and I ran by there this evening and asked if I could ask a HUGE HUGE HUGE FAVOR and borrow it to punch some trees. I had my paper with me so at least I wasn't asking to leave the store with it. But if I had she likely would have let me.......I HAVE THE BEST LSS OWNER EVER!!.

Oh yes back to the card. THe scrolls on the green strip is also from a Studio G stamp set, I think from series 11. I used Jasmine for the photo corners and Stamped for the square mats. I did have to use DS to size them how I wanted as it was a rectangle and I need a square. Anywho.....I think it turned out pretty nice!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

What's up Doc?

HA HA HA I crack myself up........as ya'll well know by now! I can just see Bugs Bunny munchin on these!

Anyway a MB member asked if I could make a CARROT .cut file for her. So I did. I asked if she would take a picture so I could post. There is a mat that makes cuts for the lines but like I told her I think they would look better done with a pen, and hers turned out great!! They are about 2 inches over all. She hadn't finished gluing them down, I think that is what she told me. Anyway.......here is some vitamin A for ya, maybe it will improve your cricut's eyesight! *okie crackin up laughing again*

Oh yeah.....It cuts 4 at a time.

Square 3 card

I made a .cut file for the SQUARE 3 card. I didn't do a cut for the card mat which is 5.25x4 because I think it would be easy to cut on our own, and would actually waste paper. But for the other smaller cuts they are all there. The mats are labeled and there is a LO mat included. When doing this file it will cut 6 cards at once. WOOHO!! Don't ya love a time saver!! And a good thing is that with using DS if you are going to make cuts to put in the squares you can size them by using the stamped image squares!! Just make another mat and copy and paste them on there if you like or write down the sizes and do them in another file. The choice is yours!

My halloween card I posted earlier is a Square 3 card.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

S'more

Someone asked about a S'MORE cut file. I thought I would make one real quick as I would need to post it before going to the crop today. YES! I am going to try this one more time! I never get anything done but I am determined today to get some LO's done!! Wish me luck! HA!

I only have a screenshot of it since I don't have time to cut it. Yeah the marshmallow is grey, but white wouldn't show up! Just think of it as slightly charred in the picture! *okie stilll just cracks herself up!*

The mats are labeled and the base is on the bottom cracker, you build up from there.

Well hope someone can use this!!

Friday, September 5, 2008

Trick or Treat

What will I do with Halloween cards? WELL I JUST DON'T KNOW!

But they are kinda fun to make. I used the LO from the August issue of Sheetload of Cards website for this one. I was able to make 6 at once. I used PDDU for the ghost, bat and spider. The sentiment is a Studio G from series 12. The paper is some scraps that my LSS owner gave me today so I have no idea what line or company it is from.

I did use the swiss dots cuttlebug folder on the black strip. And of course I had to add some Stickles!! *okie knows everyone is surprised that she used Stickles..HA!* I like this card design and it seems like it will work well with a lot of the Studio G stamps!! I want to try this LO with some fall/Thanksgiving cards also!

Sometime during the day or night..........

I HIT 100,000 VIEWS!! WOW WOW WOW! That is just hard for me to even imagine that many hits on my blog! Thank you everyone who comes to look and see what is going on. Even though sometimes there isn't much going on *much like okie's real life* you guys continue to stop on by!! So just giving a shout out to all you wonderful people!!

Oh Christmas Tree.......

I decided to try out the SheetLoad of Cards site and found this layout in their September issue. With their directions I was able to cut 6 cards at once.

I swear it takes me forever to pick out what papers I want to use! I can find a card I want to do then I spend 5 hours deciding which papers would look the best and it never fails that I always end up changing the papers like 20 times!! ARRGGHH!!

I couldn't decide what to put in the middle as it seemed the examples had stamped images. I was feeling too lazy to even try and color an image so I wanted something simple. I went through a DCWV Christmas stack I had and found a sheet with these Christmas trees. I had to cut them down to make them fit the white part. I then glued them onto some brown cardstock to add dimension and also the trunk that I had cut off. I inked the edges with Olive cat eye chalk ink. The red inking is with Ruby cat eye chalk ink, I think!!

I used the snowflake cuttlebug folder and stickled it. I think I use more Diamond stickles than any other color! The green mat is from the DCWV neutral stack. I don't remember what kinda paper the big mat is. It is something I got at the LSS that was on a clearance rack.

I used the threading water punch for the band. For the sentiment I used a Studio G stamp from series 12. And the green mat is from Mini Monograms and has the circle with the small circle and a hole in the middle. Heck I dunno what it is called but it worked for what I needed!!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

A few scrap cards

Here are a couple of cards I made last night. I had made two more but gave them to my LSS owner as she had given me a scraps I used to make them. Well not the pumpkin one, but the others.

Here is the pumpkin one. I used clipart from PC crafters mall for the pumpkin. I actually printed two and then cut one where it was just the pumpkin and used foam under it to make it stand out.


















On this one I used the cuttlebug butterfly tag team set. I love that set!! The paper is some that my LSS owner had given me. It was a stack of 4x4 squares. She figured I could use them for card making.















I was going to put a butterfly on this one but then when I had it like this I thought "OMG I CAN USE THAT FOR A MAN'S BIRTHDAY" so left the butterfly off of it. With that being said the card will likely just gather dust as I don't know any men to send a card to!!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Haunted House

I don't usually do Halloween since my daughter is now 16 but I couldn't resist the Haunted Halloween cuttlebug folder! After I got it I had to decide what I was going to do with it. Soooo.......I decided to try a Halloween card.

This one took me awhile to do because I couldn't decide what to do. I had my friend Scrappinbee on the phone and kept taking pictures and sending to her and she told me what to add. I think it turned out pretty nice!!

I used the Coredinations Black Magic paper for the house. I used stickles on the bats, moon, windows, roof and fence. The bottom part is with the forest branches cuttlebug folder. The brads are some that I inked and then used clear embossing powder on. OH yeah and the inking is done with the cat eye ink.


BUT THE NEXT ONE! I LOVE!!




Again I used the Haunted Halloween folder and Black Magic paper. But this time I used some glow in the dark Scribblers in the windows and on the moon. I hand cut the clouds, grass and tombstones. I used plain black scribblers on the bats and fence. Sorry the photo doesn't show the glow in the dark well but let me tell you.........IT IS AWESOME LOOKING IN PERSON! My daughter said "OMG MOM! That is spooky looking! I hope you aren't sending that to some little kid!" LOL

So did ya get scared lookin at the card?? *totally cracks up laughin!!*

Monday, September 1, 2008

Was I up for the challenge??

I was challenged on the Cricut MB by DrewMessman. The challenge was to make a "naughty" card but it still had to be clean. The member that challenged me was able to make a rule and I was able to make a rule. His rule was that we could only use the Cricut and our paper cutters, no scissors or craft knives, etc. for cleaning up cuts. My rule was no embellies - paper only! Which I could have kicked myself since I was dying to use some ink or pen on the card but couldn't!!

I have not seen his card yet but this is the one I did.
There was more I could have done for the card but I knew I was having company this evening so I had to get it done.!


*****************************UPDATE!!!*************************


Drew got his card done.......OMG!! It is too funny!! And I think he must have peeked at my anatomy for this one! HA HA HA HA This was really a lot of fun! Thank you so much Drew for the fun challenge!!

In case ya can't read the words the front says "Feeling DROOPY? A little UNEVEN?" And the inside says "Hope this card PERKS you up!"