Friday, September 28, 2012

T-shirts With Iron-On Vinyl

I showed you guys my test piece and then the first t-shirt I did with the IRON-ON VINYL and I have a couple more projects to show you.

This is my daughter, sorry the picture isn't to great, showing off her hoodie that we personalized with her boyfriends last name and football number. It was quite a feat to accomplish since she couldn't decide on a font for me to use *okie makes a note to tell her daughter...oh only 3 of my Cricut font cartridges work...to avoid this in the future*. Personally I think the letters and numbers are rather large but that is the way she wanted them. But when ya think about it, that is what is nice about being able to do your own, you can make it as large or small as you wish!

The day of the game last week I was working frantically on getting my STADIUM SEAT done, using regular vinyl, when my daughter said she wanted me to do t-shirts for her and her friend Alisha. All I could think about was taking a dang nap! She had been playing with the Gyspy and told me she knew how she wanted them. Since I don't like the Gypsy and it would have taken me forever to recreate the design for using vinyl I was glad I could easily go and recreate it in Design Studio in a matter of a few minutes.

Shiane picked out Quarter Note for the lettering. She used Home Decor for the flourish on her t-shirt and I found some paw prints on Campout for her friend Alisha's t-shirt.

The girls got quite a few compliments on their t-shirts and I even had a few people ask how much I charge. I told them "Oh I only do them for us". Ya'll know good and well I can't create under pressure so for me to try and take on the task of doing t-shirts for money would probably give me ulcers!









We ran into my oldest Goddaughter at the game and was commenting on our t-shirts and said "ya'll look so cute, I need to take a picture of ya'll" and she did. I am glad she did so I can add this pic to the scrapbook page for this game, but I think it also shows how well the vinyl looks on t-shirts.


I am hoping to get a video tutorial done this weekend. I have at least 5 more t-shirts to do. Chuck's family is coming in for the Homecoming game next week and I am making t-shirts for them. It is the real reason I decided to go ahead and order the iron-on vinyl because t-shirts run anywhere from $20-$30 and I thought this would be cheaper. I was able to pick up t-shirts for $4-$5 and paid less than $50 for 3 rolls of vinyl. So far just the few I have done has paid for the rest of the ones I will do...did that make sense? I hope so.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

From UGH lee To Not Too Bad

So yesterday I showed ya'll the UGH lee card I was working on and I was hoping I could salvage the poor thing. I always forget what a little embellishing can do for something and while I could have done more I was still pretty happy with the results, not overboard happy, but just happy it was acceptable enough that I didn't have to toss it in the trash!

I embossed the main mat to add some interest and now it might be too interesting...or busy but I still think it made it look better.  The folder I used is a Darice folder that I got from Consumer Crafts. I don't remember the name of it and when I looked online I couldn't find it but it is similar to Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirls but has a little more flourish design and some dots to it. I have really liked all the folders I have gotten from Consumer Crafts and they have always left a good crisp impression.

I used the Stampin Up Bird punch for adding some leaves to break up the background a little. I punched out 3 leaf branches and glued them down under the flower.




I decided to add a few dots of Liquid Pearls to the flower center. I used Chestnut and it seemed to go really well with the Stampin Up Really Rust ink and paper I was using. The ink for the flower is Mellow Moss stamped on a light blue swirl paper but that doesn't show well in the picture. The flower is punched with the Blossom Punch from Stampin Up. Come to think of it I think the stamp set is called Blossom as well.

I turned up the edges of the flower for some dimension and also pop dotted it on the card. Ya'll know by now I can't do a project without pop dottin somethin!!





And here is a side by side comparison of the UGH lee card and the "it'll pass" card. I guess some embellishment really can salvage even the most horrid of projects!!



Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Sometimes Ya Just Go UGH...lee!

I haven't been able to spend much ME time lately and last night I decided it was time and that I would just sit and craft all evening, never mind my paperwork, the kids, laundry, boxing up crap or anything else.

I looked through some card sketches and couldn't think of anything and then decided to do something with polka dots. I got some paper out and started cutting. I am finding this is not a good idea. I should always plan things out a little more because I ended up with some GAWD AWFUL UGLY AZZ CARD! I was on the phone with Linda and told her "I think these will be going in your card box to give away". She laughed at me and when I posted a picture on her Facebook wall she said "well I am glad YOU said it was ugly" *okie thinks Linda could be a bit more supportive and understanding and lessened the blow a little but then she would be one of okie's favorite bitches if she did*. All I could do was just think "UGH...lee!!!".

I think the problem was that I didn't really have anything in mind and I just kept cutting paper and then decided I needed to use what I had cut so I didn't waste the paper. I did ink some of the edges but it still wasn't doing it for me.

I decided to set it aside and will see if I can't salvage this ugly azz thing tonight and hopefully I will have something decent out of it to post and show you tomorrow! Ya'll keep your fingers crossed!!

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Stampin Up Promotion - FREE RIBBON!

This month is my hostess month in my Stampin Up club and I hit the good month! Stampin Up is running a promotion right now where if you order $40 worth of product you get a free 10 yard spool of 3/8 inch satin stitch ribbon. If you order $80, two spools...$120, three spools, etc.

If you would like to make an order please let me know and I will get you Kristen Long's email address so you can email your order to her. Orders need to be made ASAP since she will be going out of town for the weekend on Friday and she would like to get the order in before then.

I am having a hard time picking out the color I want!! It's a toss between Gumball Green and Primrose Petals...what to do what to do!


Monday, September 24, 2012

Don't Like The Team? Change It!

I use to have a stadium seat that I loved and used frequently at football and softball games. Somehow over the years it has come up missing. Now that I am back in the swing of going to football games I needed another stadium chair. Bleachers are always hard on the tush and usually it kills my back so the chairs are nice to have. I was talking about it at school one day and one of the teachers said she had one I could have and brought it to me. I was planning on recovering it with some tiger fabric but since the colors matched my needs I didn't need to do that and only needed to cover up the university logo that was imprinted on the back.

Supplies Used:
Cricut Expression
Cricut Craftroom Software
Cricut George cartridge
Cricut Varsity Letter cartridge
Cricut Team Spirit cartridge
Vinyl
Transfer Tape






I measured the emblem that was already on the chair to see how big I would need to make my vinyl design to cover it up. I made my oval to fit in the measurements I needed and then started my design from that point.

Using Cricut Craftroom is a real pain in the butt to me and believe me I would NOT have used it had I had a choice but since Team Spirit isn't in Design Studio yet I was limited on my options. What should have taken me about 10-15 minutes to design and set up took me HOURS...and no, I am not exaggerating. My friend Linda can vouch for me since she had to listen to me curse while we were on the phone.

It took me forever to get the letters arranged along the curve because CCR is very jerky and in my thinking it might be due to the dependence on the internet and servers not always running smoothly. All I know is that every time I have used that silly program it has been very jerky and irritating.

I got to take it to the game on Saturday and it it worked like a charm!

Sunday, September 23, 2012

STAMPS FOR SALE!!!

I started out stamping by getting the Studio G stamps. I liked them because they were a good price but as my stamping interest grew so did my taste for rubber stamps. Anyway I have decided to sell my Studio G stamps since I don't use them anymore. Actually there are a few that I have kept that I do use, but for the most part I tend to use my other stamps more. Most of these have never been used, some are stained because I have used them.

I am selling these in the protective sheets, which are baseball card protectors, for $10 a sheet and it includes shipping. Due to time and laziness I will not switch out any stamps in the sets, it would just confuse me to do so. If you want to purchase more than one sheet I will discount the price by 10%. I have labeled each picture so if you are interested please include the name that is on the picture.

I will delete pictures as they are sold so there is no confusion. I use the click to ship feature from the USPS so I ship out the next business day in most occasions. I will only take Paypal for payment and will send you an invoice if you make a purchase.

You can click on the pictures if you would like to see a closer look.

  Holiday 1 - $10, includes shipping













HOLIDAY 2 - SOLD AND SHIPPED








Holiday 3 - $10, includes shipping



SET 1 - SOLD AND SHIPPED

SET 2 - SOLD AND SHIPPED



SET 3 - $10, includes shipping
















 SET 4 - $10, includes shipping
 SET 5 - $10, includes shipping




SET 6 - SOLD AND SHIPPED

SET 7 - SOLD AND SHIPPED

 SET 8 - $10, includes shipping
SET 9 - $10, includes shippin
















SET 10 - SOLD AND SHIPPED

 SET 11 - $10, includes shipping
 SET 12 - $10, includes shipping

SET 13 - SOLD AND SHIPPED

SET 14 - SOLD AND SHIPPED
SET 15 - $10, includes shipping

Have Ya Tried Iron-On Vinyl?

I have been hearing everyone rave about using the iron-on vinyl with the Cricut for quite awhile and while I was wanting to try it I thought it was a bit expensive for me to try and mess up. I searched the internet and asked others about where the best place was to purchase. After researching several places it turns out the best place was the exact place where I get my regular vinyl...SIGN WAREHOUSE!! WHO KNEW? Well okay my friend Lori knew because she suggested I check there.

Chuck, my foster son, who is also once again my daughters boyfriend *okie wonders if she should explain the whole thing but then decides to wait on another post for that long explanation* plays football for the local university and we decided we wanted to make t-shirts to show our support. I ordered vinyl in orange, black and white. Since Chuck's family is coming in from Mississippi for homecoming next month and they asked if we would have some t-shirts made for them so they would be ready when they got here I thought it would be cheaper for us to do them than go to the local t-shirt place.

I first did a test run with a small piece before trying something as big as a shirt. Of course I used Design Studio to do this, as I do everything...unless I am forced to use CCR *okie takes a deep soothing breath* but I won't talk about that right now. Anyway, I typed it in backwards s r e g i T and then hit the "flip" button so the letters give me a mirror image. My pressure was set to medium and blade at 2, I did find out that pressure does better at low so it doesn't cut through the already attached transfer film. I did the weeding like you do for regular vinyl and I was ready to iron it on. I just got an old pair of sleep shorts to use since it was just a test. 

After I did the little word on the shorts I moved on to a t-shirt. I just picked up a  cheap one at the bargain store to work with in case I messed it up. Here you see Chuck modeling the shirt for me, terrible picture of him by the way. 

I used Varsity Letter for the ECU and Sports Mania for the football. If you look closely you see the letters didn't quite match up right. Next time I will do the full letter in the black, then do the white with the outline but hide contour on the outer lines. This will put the black in the back and the narrower white on top. The football however did line up perfect. I think if you are layering and have something like Varsity Letters you need to be very careful with not stretching the fabric while ironing the vinyl on.

Chuck's family is coming from Mississippi in two weeks for homecoming and Shiane and I are going to make t-shirts for them. I guess we better get busy on those this week!

If you do check Sign Warehouse for the vinyl you might notice there are some other types than the EnduraTex Iron-On that I ordered and used but I chose this specific one because it can be used easily with a household iron. I am not sure but some of the other vinyls seemed to need very specific tempratures and are probably best used with a heat press.

I will be posting two other t-shirts I made and also a regular vinyl project in the next few days.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Still Lovin The Cherries!

I still have my love of anything cherry when it comes to paper and papercrafting. I found this paper at the scrapbook store last week and fell in love with it. It's from Kaisercraft in their Nan's Favourites Collection. 

Supplies Used:
Cricut Expression
Cricut Preserves cartridge
Cricut Storybook cartridge
Kaisercraft Nan's Favourites Collection
Stampin Up Cardstock
Various Cardstock
Stampin Up Markers
Memento Ink
Colorbox Chalk Ink
3/8" Organza Ribbon



I only bought two different sheets since they were double sided. The cherry print had the blue on the back and the gingham had the script on the back. The script side is what I used on the top mat behind the cherries.

I have used this sentiment, A Cherry Hello, several times and I am sure I will use it more if I don't find some new cherry sentiments.

A white gel pen was used to mark some highlights on the cherries and I added some little stitches across the leaves with a Stampin Up marker.



The cherries and the mats they are on are from the Preserves cartridge. I did manipulate the mats in Design Studio and resize them to fit the cherries I had cut. The turquoise part is from Storybook and I cut it in half. This allowed me to cut only 3 but get enough for 6 cards without wasting paper. I use two different colors when cutting the cherries and went with one smooth and one textured, not real sure I like that but what's done is done.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Butterflies Are Always Easy

My friend Linda and I always talk about how we love making cards with butterflies. I am not sure why they seem to be such a great subject but we have always looked for paper, stamps, punches and anything else that have butterflies. I saw this layout of the card on Pintrest but there the Stampin Up owl punch was used instead of a butterfly.

Supplies Used:
Graphic 45 paper
Various Pattern Paper
Stampin Up Punches
EK Success Punches
Grosgrain Ribbon
Queen & Co. Pearls
Colorbox Chalk Ink
Stampin Up Markers








I couldn't think of any sentiment for this card so I didn't use any. I did add some extra embellishment for the inside of the card to make up for it. I had just punched out some extra butteflies at first and glued them to the inside and while it was a nice look it didn't seem enough. I inked over it with some pink to give a glow behind it.

Once again that didn't quite seem enough so I used some re-positionable adhesive and put down a punched out butterfly and inked over it and then removed it.  This might be a technique I try again because I like the effect it gave the card.




I used graduated scallop circle punches because the pink one just seemed to small and just the gray seemed to bland but once together then it seemed to work well. The circle punch is a 1 3/8". The butterfly punch is by Martha Stewart, which is actually EK Success. I seriously doubt good ol Martha even knows this punch exists!

Thursday, September 20, 2012

That Dang HappyHappyJoyJoy

I am sure most of ya'll are familiar with Joy, aka HappyHappyJoyJoy, of Obsessed with Scrapbooking and ya'll have grown to love her. But let me tell ya, she is evil...PURE EVIL!!! She mentioned on Facebook this weekend that she was watching some show and was really enjoying it. I haven't had anything good to watch lately and wondered about it.

Okay let me clear this up a bit, Joy was not just mentioning this show...she was RAVING about  Downton Abbey. I looked it up on Netflix and figured I would give it a whirl. I ended up devoting the whole weekend to watching the dang show!!

This series had me enthralled with the intertwined lives of not only the aristocratic family but their house staff as well as they made their way through daily life of the historic time of the early 1900's. I finished watching the first season and was ready to immediately start watching the second season. I loaded up Netflix and to my absolute horror there was no second season! I did a search and still no second season! I did  search on the internet and found it was available on Hulu Plus. Luckily there was a free trial so I could watch the second season.

Now the problem lies in that the 3rd season doesn't start in the states until January 6th of 2013!! HOW IN THE HELL AM I SUPPOSE TO SURVIVE UNTIL THEN?? I have actually thought about mentioning my dilemma on Facebook with hopes that one of my lovely UK friends has Skype and would set their computer in front of their telly so I could watch along with them. While this might appear to be a fabulously ingenious idea there is a problem...TIME ZONE DIFFERENCE. So I guess I shall have to suffer through the next 100+ days until the premiere on PBS. I guess until that time I can watch the series a few times so I can have the story down pat when the new season starts.

Oh and another reason Joy is evil...well she tried to put the blame on poor Melanie, aka AmeriBritgal, of Courtney Lane Designs, who I can't imagine ever getting anyone hooked om something that isn't readily available.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

New and Improved....Is it better?

 Have you ever gotten something that you know you can use but it still intimidates you because it is different than what you are use to using? In my life it seems the pattern is usually men. I get use to one but then they go away and then I have a different one and it is suppose to be new and improved and it intimidates me because it is different than what I previously had and then when I get use to all the bells and whistles on that one it goes away and...well the vicious circle starts all over again. However, today I am not talking about men. Instead I am talking about sewing machines!


The sewing machine I use to have was a Kenmore that I bought for myself as a graduation present when I graduated from high school. That should tell you that the machine was AT LEAST ten years old and while I would love for you to believe I graduated only 10 years ago I have to be honest and say that I graduated in 1984 so the poor thing is 28 years old. This is not a picture of my Kenmore sewing machine but it is what it looks like.

I believe my friend Linda might have had her husband fix it but we still aren't sure how well it sews. Linda was watching HSN and contacted me and let me know they were having a good deal on a machine that she felt I would be comfortable using. I am proficient at sewing but I don't do a lot of fancy work so all the new machines with their 25,184 features is more than I need. I checked the machine out online and it looked to be what I have been looking for and with the flex-pay option of $40 a month, no taxes and free shipping and handling I figured I could swing it easy enough and off to ordering I went.

I received my new Singer sewing machine yesterday afternoon and went directly to reading the manual when I get home. It is quite different than my previous sewing machine but the basics are about the same. I did have to laugh several times when I kept reaching over to the right hand side of the machine to do reverse stitch, something I will have to get accustom to for sure! I had thought the housing was metal but it is indeed plastic but it does feel more durable than the machines I had checked out at Walmart several times.

I decided to really check out the machine I would need to sew something and the only thing I could think of to sew was a cover for the machine. I pulled down one of my totes that has fabric stored in it and looked through to just find something to use. I found a piece of chambray that I thought would work fine for a test run. Since the machine came with a little flimsy plastic cover I used it as a pattern.

It didn't turn out perfect but that is quite alright since I wasn't out for beauty on this but instead just trying out the machine.

Here is another view of the cover from an angle. I did hem it a wee bit short but yet again since it was just a test it doesn't matter much.

I do have to say I believe I am going to like the simplicity of this machine and it does seem to sew quite well. I use to sew a lot for my daughter and making things and now maybe I can start doing more sewing. My poor ol Kenmore has been out of commission for a few years now so I shall have to polish up on my sewing skills again.One of my first projects is going to be making a matching shower and window curtain for my little bathroom.

I have to wonder if new and improved is better but time will tell in this case!

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Quick Gift Was Needed!

My cousin Teresa called me at the beginning of the month to let me know that some of my relatives would be descending upon my Aunt Betty's house Labor Day weekend and that my presence was requested. My Aunt Janet and Cousin Lisa would be in from Ohio, Aunt Mary from Texas as well as my sister from Moore, and then Aunt Betty's family. I wasn't sure I would get to make it with the amount of paperwork I was doing, Chuck having football practice and Shiane just having surgery. But luckily it all worked out that we could make it up to Seminole to visit.

While the kids were still sleeping that morning I remembered my Aunt Betty's birthday would be in a few days and I should take her something. A few years back I had altered a little tin and put some notecards in the tin and she loved it. Her house burned down almost two years ago and I figured the tin likely didn't make it through and since I had several little sets of notecards and some tins I thought I would get busy and alter a tin. I then remembered I have never made anything for my Aunt Janet or Aunt Mary and while it wasn't their birthday I figured they would like one as well so I got busy working on 3 tins. I was thrilled when I was able to find the .cut file to use with Design Studio I made years ago so I was able to cut the pieces for covering the tins rather quickly.


Supplies Used:
Metal Lunch Box Tins from Dollar Tree
K & Co. Paper Packs
Ribbon
Flowers
Pearls
Rhinestones
Colorbox Chalk Ink





I got these tins several years ago at Dollar Tree and stocked up on them. I originally used them to put in little bottles of Bath and Body Works lotions and body washes and used as prizes at my Christmas party one year. I hadn't tried these particular ones for notecards but did find out that they don't fit well if they are in the envelope. I was able to take the cards out of the envelopes and put the envies at the bottom and then stack the cards on top.

I think I might need to get busy on making some more notecards and have these on hand for quick gifts for for prizes at this year's party.




I used the punchouts from the paper pack for the decorations on this tin. I didn't have a lot of time so I couldn't embellish as well as I usually do but I figured my aunts would never notice....and they didn't. I did use the Stampin Up bird punch for the leaves behind the flower on the tag and an EK Success photo corner punch around the sentiment on the tag.

I know I used the Life's A Journey pack on this particular tin. The flower is build with some Prima flowers I have in my stash and the pearl added a nice center. I added a little bling flourish for some pizzazz. The little stamp below the flower was from the paper pack as well.


This might have been out of the Life's A Journey pack as well, I just don't remember off the top of my head and I didn't write it down. The tag part didnt show up well on this tin but I think the pearls helped make it look better. The flowers are Prima's that are out of my stash as well.

Aunt Betty, Aunt Mary, Aunt Janet
My aunts loved the tins and notecards. I just hope they use the cards. When I gave one to my Aunt Betty before she said the were too nice to use *okie rolls her eyes* and I told her "AUNT BETTY!! I can always make you more!" *okie laughs remember that Aunt Betty didn't seem very convinced*.


My mom was very close to her sisters and I always feel I have a special bond with my aunts even if I don't seem them often enough!

Monday, September 17, 2012

Great American Scrapbook Convention 2010

One of the things I love about the way I scrap is that I never feel pressure about being behind because I don't scrap in order. I tend to just go through my pictures and scrap what I am in the mood to do at the time.

I have been meaning to scrap the pictures of when Linda, Karen and I went to the GASC in 2010 but just got around to doing it. I actually did the layout as part of a one of the scrapbook sketch challenges in Old Cricut Community Facebook Group and well, ya'll know I have been busy and I am just now getting it posted to my blog.

Supplies Used:
Cricut Expression
Cricut Everyday Cartridge
Cricut George Cartridge
Silver cardstock
Various cardstock
I don't remember the paper
MS Word for Journaling
White Gel Pen
Colorbox Chalk Ink







I used Cricut Everyday to cut the title and the scissors. I really do love that cartridge when I am scrapbooking pages about scrapbooking *okie thinks that sounds rather odd but isn't sure how else to say it and is too lazy to contemplate on how to reword that sentence*. It did take a little patience to get the layering right on the title due to my glue wanting to dry on parts of the words before I got them down on the bottom layer but I love the look I got and think it stands out nicely.



I have seen the block journaling many many times over the years and always thought it looked cool but was always either too lazy or to scared to try it...yes I can get scared! *okie rolls her eyes knowing everyone gets scared to try new techniques*. Since my handwriting is atrocious I did mine with MS Word so it would be legible. I liked how I just used key phrases that are easily understood by me, Linda and Karen and will send us into fits of laughter just reading them. I need to realize that journaling doesn't mean you have to write a whole scenario and that sometimes key words work just as well.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Cricut Artiste Western Theme Card

As I was looking through the stamps that coordinate with the Cricut Artiste cartridge I received from Melanie, I came across one that reminded me of a belt buckle. I immediately thought I needed to do a western theme card with it...and so I did! This particular stamp set didn't come with the bundle. One of the good things about CTMH is they produce other sets that coordinate with the Cricut cartridges besides just the ones that come with the bundles.


Supplies Used:
Cricut Artiste
CTMH Casual Expressions Stamp Set
Gold Embossing Powder
Silver Embossing Powder
Heat Gun
Versamark Ink
Paper Studio pattern paper
Mica Stardream cardstock
Various cardstock
Various Inks/Markers
Mounting Foam






I cut the shape out of Mica Stardream cardstock and then stamped on the image with Versamark and added embossing powder. It is very easy to get the stamps lined up since they are clear but I always cut one or two extra images just in case I screw up. I did have to hand cut the stars after stamping and embossing them but it didn't take long to do those.

I folded strips of the denim paper to make them look like belt loops and added on the sides of the "belt buckle".

I used mounting foam to give dimension to the belt buckle and the starts. You can also see the loops a little better in this picture. The ends were folded under the "leather belt" to make it look more realistic.

While I haven't had much time to play with all my goodies lately I am hoping to have some time soon to really see what this cartridge can do!

If you are interested in ordering the Cricut Artiste Bundle just contact MELANIE and she will glad to assist you!