Mini Lunchbox Alteration

I am finally getting around to posting the cut files for the Dollar Tree mini lunch boxes! I have the cut file for LUNCHBOX PS, which is set on the 12x12 mat and THE LUNCHBOX GEO, which is set on the 12x6 mat. The mats are labeled according to the cut. You will easily be able to cover a lunch box with one sheet of double sided paper. I wouldn't advise trying to move the cuts around for the rims or sides since it kept giving me the dreaded red X of death! *okie wishes Design Studio would stop that #@%$!*.

What took me so long to post the cut files is that I wanted to do a video tutorial so you guys can see how easy it is to alter these. I really gotta learn to talk faster or work faster one, not sure which. I keep having to edit like 4-5 minutes out of my videos *okie thinks she will just blame it on the director*. Anyway, I hope you guys can use the cut file! It really does make it easier.

WINTER WOODLAND WINNER!!

I told my friend to pick a number between 1-219 and he chose 58! So the person who was the 58th person to post is the winner of the Winter Woodland Cartridge.....and some extra little goodies!!

That person is.......

Helen said...

Okie you are too funy!! I love to see all your creations and read your posts!

Thanks for sharing--I would love to own Winter Woodlands.

November 15, 2009 12:06 PM

Helen, please email me at ****** so I can get your information!

Mini Lunch box tins...who got some

Did any of you guys get the mini lunch box tins from Dollar Tree? I got a few *okie laughs at saying a few* and started altering last night. I did a cut file for covering the tin that I need to tweak just a bit. If any of you got the tin let me know and I will post the cut file tonight. It includes cuts for the top, bottom, side and lid side. The cuts are there for where the latch is, which is a pain in the hiney when trying to cut by hand.

Uhh...it's over

*okie peeks around the corner with a puzzled look on her face and scratches her head* What? You guys are still here? Look at the time folks it is 2:15 am Sunday morning. It's over! Go away now there is nothing else to see! *okie shoos away the readers looking* Now go away and let me sleep....*okie starts to walk off, looks over her shoulders* My guest designer spot is over, and now it is Susan and Jeannie's turn. Go now.....go on.....*okie shakes head and sighs deeply*

*okie starts to walk down the hall and looks back* SERIOUSLY FOLKS! GO AWAY NOW!

*okie walks a few more steps and stops suddenly* OOHH MMYY GGOOSSSHHH!! I know why ya'll are still here! *okie starts to grin* It's about the giveaway huh!!

*okie walks back to the screen* Okay here's the dealeo folks. I am giving away a Winter Woodland cartridge. Yep...absolutely free I tell you. Oh yes and if the lucky winner lives over seas, guess what...I will ship international! Also I will be throwing in a few little surprise goodies! All you have to do is comment on THIS POST to be eligible. The drawing will close on Tuesday at noon central time *seems appropriate since it is okie's time*.

Oh and I will not be posting this on the Cricut messageboard. I want my regular readers to have a better shot at winning, plus I want to see who is paying attention *okie cracks up laughin*! Thanks so much to all of you for the wonderful comments this last week on my projects!

Please enter only once. I have to approve comments before they are posted so it may take awhile for your comment to be visible.

Crafty Gift - My final Christmas With The Cricut project

It's Crafty Gift Saturday and this is my final time posting for Christmas With The Cricut. I have enjoyed being a guest designer with Barb aka Snowmanlover and have loved all the projects she has made this week! Make sure you check out her projects also at Snowmanlovers Paperie. I would like to thank the ladies over at CWTC for believing I was talented enough to be a guest designer for their blog.

For my crafty gift I decided to do an altered tin. Ya'll know I love me some altered tins!! This particular one is a Stampin Up skinny tin *okie wonders if anyone else sees a tin and automatically starts thinking of how they can decorate it*.

You will need to click on the picture to see the details better.

The theme I used was Christmas candy recipes and I decided to put "Oh Sweet Christmas" on the outside of the tin. I made a set of 12 recipe cards that go inside the tin.

I once again used the Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses paper line *okie wonders if anyone noticed the theme all week and then laughs at her silly self*.


To cover the tin I cut the paper slightly larger than the measurement of the tin. I then went along as close as I could with my Cutterbee scissors and then followed up with my Basic Grey file kit to sand the paper down to the edge. The font for "Oh Sweet Christmas" is Winter Woodland, as are the snowflakes and branch. I added light blue rhinestones and doodled with a SU marker on the snowflakes. For the branch I used Kaiser flat back pearls for the berries. The dots on the title are done with the Signo UM-153 white gel pen. The inked edges are done with Cat Eye Dark Brown Chalk Ink.



I will be using this as a prize at my Christmas party *okie knew she better keep the recipes simple since she figures only 2 of her guests own candy thermometers*. I found some of my favorite candy recipes and printed them on MS word *okie wonders if anyone is interested in doing this project since she saved the recipes in MS Word* and trimmed to 1/8" from the wording. I used Mini Monograms for the card bases and mats. I used Winter Woodland for the decorative cuts. I didn't get to pop dot as much as I generally do since the tin is not quite 1" thick.

I did get to pop dot on the front though and thank goodness *okie wipes hand across brown*, I sure don't want to go through pop dot withdrawl! I heard it ain't pleasant at all!! You can see the detailing a bit better in this picture also. Don't ya'll just love Kaiser Pearls!?! *okie grins nodding head up and down like an idiot*. I think some maroon pearls might have looked better but I since I didn't have maroon I had to go with what I had, which was the opal color.

There are so many things I can think of to do with these cute little tins!



I want to thank all of you for your support and wonderful comment this week. It has been a joy reading each and every one of them! I was nervous about the video but with all the positive comments I got I think I will probably be making more in the future.

******************UPDATE - FILES AVAILABLE*********************************

I didn't include the .cut file or recipe file at first because I wasn't sure anyone would want to make one of these since I did it specifically for my recipes that I printed and cut. But after some of the comments I received I thought I would make the files available along with a few instructions.

CANDY RECIPE TIN - click to download the .cut file. It uses Winter Woodland and Mini Monograms. The first 2 mats are for reference only for placement ideas. Since the recipes measure differently I made each cut for that specific recipe card. Of course feel free to play with it however you wish. All the other mats are labeled according to what they are. The abbreviations are for the recipes themselves and are follows:

1st mat (do not cut)- Christmas Peppermint Candy, Butterscotch Haystacks, Rocky Road Fudge, White Chocolate Party Mix

2nd mat (do not cut) - Eskimo Snowballs, Easy Oreo Truffles, Rum Balls, No-Cook Divinity

3rd mat - cut 1, it's scallop mats for the card base for the following recipes...Ho Ho Snowballs, Peanut Butter Balls, Coconut BonBons, Kahlua Cocoa Balls

Card base - cut 3
Card mat - cut 2 (the scallop mat finishes out the card mats)

All other mats are labeled by color. Of course you don't have to follow the design with the colors or the specific cuts. Just remember not to make your cuts too big.

Also you won't be able to popdot or embellish too heavy since the tin isn't quite an inch thick. I did minimal decoration on several of the cards to keep the overall thickness down.

EASY CHRISTMAS CANDY RECIPES - click to download the recipes. There are 3 sheets for a count of 12 recipes. You will want to trim the recipes 1/8" from the wording. I used a quilting ruler to do mine.

I hope you guys enjoy making this project! I know it sounds like it might be complicated but it really isn't. HAVE FUN!

Need help!!! downloading files

Evidently there are some download issues with some of my files right now. If you have been able to download please leave a comment and let me know. If you have tried to download but haven't been able to please leave a comment and let me know which file you were trying to download. I will try and get this straightened out this afternoon. Thanks so much!

Fancy Card - Eskimo Kisses

Good day everyone! Today is Fancy Card Friday at Christmas With The Cricut. Barb aka Snowmanlover will be rounding out our week as guest designers tomorrow with the crafty gift. I have really enjoyed being able to post my creations for you guys and I appreciate all the wonderful comments! Make sure you check out Barb's Fancy Card at Snowmanlovers Paperie!

So for my fancy card I decided to make this POCKET CARD ESKIMO KISSES. I have to be honest and give Tammy at CWTC for the idea. I had made a pocket card last fall and posted on my blog and she really loved it and suggested that I make one during my guest designer spot.

The great thing about this card is that the pockets are large enough to put a gift card in also if you so desire. I will be using some repositionable tape to add one to the blank tag.

The .cut file is set to cut 2 cards at once. All elements (ie, sentiments and tags) are adjustable and are easy to copy and paste if you are wanting to cut more than once. However the card base is not adjustable.

Feel free to change the wording or other elements of the card to your own specific needs. I chose the words Eskimo kisses since the Basic Grey paper had Eskimo's on it. I do have the words "& holiday wishes" in the cut file that will fit on a tag but since my blade died on me I opted to use the stamped sentiment of "warm holiday wishes". Here is the front shot and also a close up of the inside where you can see the sentiment better. Remember you can click on the picture if you want to see closer detail *okie always likes to remind others of this feature*.














Step1 - You will want to gather your cuts and ink any edges before you start to assemble. Then assemble the front sentiment and the sentiment block. I chose to use some Basic Grey magnets to help keep the card closed. I applied one in between the sentiment layers and placed the other one on the back side, closed the card, marked where the magnet should be and then placed it between the inside mat and card base *okie things this might need to be a video in the future*. I promise it is not as complicated as it sounds. I have used velcro dots as closures also. It all just depends on what you are wanting to do.



Step 2 - Apply the mats to the card base. I added faux stitching with a Stampin Up marker at this point. You may not want to decorate the mats too much since they will be covered with the pockets and the tags. I thought about using the Cuttlebug but I couldn't bring myself to squish those cute little Eskimo's!









Step 3 - Add ribbon to your pocket cuts before adhering to the mats, this way you can clip the ends easily. I added faux stitching with a Signo UM-153 white pen. I used my ATG gun to adhere the pockets and it has the 1/4" tape. You will want to be careful to stay to the edges so you allow for the tags to be inserted later. Also remember to only do the sides and bottom. If ya do the top...well...the dang tag won't go in!! *okie laughs at self because she almost did this*.






Step 4 - Assemble your tags and decorate as you wish. Again I thought about the cuttlebug but since I am leaving one blank for either adding a gift card or writing a short note I decided against it. I pulled ribbon through the holes at the top and then added brads to keep the ribbon in place.










Step 5 - Add your sentiment to one mat, you can either use the one that is included in the cut file, make your own or do as I did and stamp then emboss! *okie loves embossing powder*.

While the card may seem complicated it really is easy to go together and can be decorated in so many ways!!

Daughter update

I just wanted to say thank you so much for all the wonderful comments about the situation with my daughter. My daughter did have everything returned, sans stereo faceplate, today. We also elaborated on our police report date today due to an individual sending text messages that were rather incriminating against some other individuals. The case has been turned over to the detectives at this point.

Again, thank you so much for your concern and support. I truly appreciate it!

The Magic of Winter Layout

It's layout Thursday at Christmas With the Cricut! Be sure to check out Barb's two page layout at Snowmanlovers Paperie and also Tammy's two page layout at Christmas with the Cricut!

For my THE MAGIC OF WINTER layout I used Winter Woodland and Mini Monograms. I kept thinking of what I could do that would convey Christmas but not to over the top so it can be a general winter use layout also. I finally came up with the design. The use of paper and embellishment is always the key to a good layout.

You can click on the picture to see more detail if you would like.






Patterned paper is Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses. I love Basic Grey and just love their Christmas line this year! As ya’ll know a great layout is one that is layers, layers and layers. I am usually too lazy to do very many layers but I got a little layer happy for this one! The cut file will cut everything you need and does have a placement reference mat so you can use it as a guide if you so wish.

Step 1. Cut paper as follows

-Patterned paper at 5.25 x 12”, pictured is Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses Peppermint Twist

-Plain paper at 1.25 x 12”, pictured is Bazzill Bling off white

-Patterned paper at 2.25 x 12 Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses Snow Cap

Use a border punch on each of the pieces going down the 12” length. I used the Stampin Up scallop border punch and then my deckle blade on my Purple Cows Trimmer. Ink edges if desired. Adhere to the base cardstock as pictured. I used Eskimo Kisses brads on the large sheet of patterned paper.

-Follow mat guides on cut file to cut pieces for the title, branch, bird and photo mats.

Step 2. Ink edges of your branches and leaves and assemble. Once assembled adhere to the branch shadow. I made criss cross marks on the pinecone for more detail.

Step 3. Apply mounting foam (if desired) *okie can’t imagine anyone not liking mounting foam but figures there are one or two odd folks out there* along the branch as shown. Apply branch to layout base.

Step 4. Assemble bird. I used Stardream Mica for the bird and opted to use a small black brad for his eye. Apply mounting foam to back of bird and place on branch.

Step 5. Assemble title words. I used an offset shadow and you can see in the picture how to offset. I used a dark brown for the shadow and opal Stardream mica for the top layer.

Step 6.

Take your mat cuts and assemble. I used Stardream bronze and Jupiter for the solids and then Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses Alpine for the patterned paper. Embellish layers as you wish. I did ink the edges and then went back and added faux stitching on the patterned paper.

Step 7.

The adhere your mats to the layout.I used mounting foam on the scallop picture mats but of course you don’t have to pop dot them if you don’t want to.

Step 8. Add your title and embellish layout as you wish! I used Decorative Snow paint for the snowy effect on the title words and branch. Frosted Lace Stickles were added to the scallop picture mats. I added faux stitching on several of the elements. These of course are just suggestions and you can put your own twist on the layout.

I AM SO SORRY!

During the commotion of my daughter getting her purse stolen out of her car last night while visiting her boyfriend and then two of her tires being slashed and the faceplate off her stereo being stolen sometime during the night I totally forgot to set the video for the giftbag public. It should be viewable now.

Again my sincerest apologies.

Gift bag and tag

For my gift packaging project for Christmas With The Cricut I decided to go with the gift bags I have been making. I have had several requests for instructions on how to do these and I thought I might annoy you guys with my nasaly man voice again! *okie cracks up laughin*

The HOLLY GIFT BAG AND TAG is so simple to make. The cut file is set to cut for 2 at a time. Of course I used Winter Woodland and Mini Monograms for the project. Part of the fun of the gift bags is knowing you can embellish as little or as much as you want. You can click on the picture for a bigger more detailed view.

Supplies needed to make your own gift bag like the one shown are -
Brown lunch bag
patterned paper
solid cardstock or paper
ribbon
embellishments
graduated punches (ex. circle, oval or square)





Here is a close up of the holly border and the tag. I used Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses for the patterned paper. The holly border is with Coredinations White Wash. I also made my own Cuttlebug folder for it, as you will be able to see in the video.










And if you are bored you can watch the video on how to make your very own gift bag!

Tomorrow is gift packaging

for my Christmas With The Cricut project. And guess what.....IT'S A VIDEO! YEP! Now that's all I am saying but I know several of you will be glad it's a video! LOL

And don't forget to keep watching for the announcement of how to win your own Winter Woodland cart! *okie wonders if she should mention she is willing to ship internationally, and then decides not to mention it and just let it be a surprise if the person who wins lives across vast water from okie*

Home Decor - Poinesetta Topiary

I really stressed over this project. I couldn’t decide what I should make. I thought about a wall quote but I couldn’t think of a good one. I thought about several other things and finally I thought about a topiary. It was really simple to make and you can decorate it as you wish.

I think it turned out really nicely and I hope my friends do also since this will become a prize at my Christmas party. I think these would be great for table tops or even centerpieces.

I used Winter Woodland and Mini Monograms for the project.

I do have the cut file for the POINSETTA TOPIARY and the number of flowers is set to cover a 2.5” Styrofoam ball.

Step 1. Gather your supplies

4” clay pot

dowel rod

2.5” Styrofoam ball

wired ribbon

floral pins

Step 2. You will want to cover your ball with what ever material you choose. Spanish moss would work but I used batting and ribbon since it is what I had available. To hold the materials on the ball just use some of the floral pins. Also you will want to decorate your clay pot however you wish. I painted mine white and then sponge painted with gold paint. I placed Styrofoam in the bottom of the pot for the dowel rod to go in. I covered the foam with a circle of green paper by gluing the paper to the Styrofoam. I used the large Daisy punch to cut flowers and then turn up the leaves and then just glued them to the light green paper.

Step 3. You will want to decorate your dowel rod at this point. I just wrapped some of the wired ribbon around the dowel rod. It could be painted also. You will want to find the center of the ball and poke the dowel rod in the hole, pushing to about half way into the ball.

Step 4. Using the cut file you will get cuts for 32 flowers. I used 2 different colors of green for the leaves and 3 colors for the flowers. But you can do it however you wish. The centers of poinsettas are yellow but I opted to go with a gold. I did use Stardream for the flowers. Colors used were for the leaves - Fairway and Emerald; for the flowers - Rose Quartz, Mars and Opal; for flower center – Gold. Embellish the flowers however you wish. I put my through the Cuttlebug using the D’Vine Swirls folder and then dotted with a white pen and gold pen. You will also get the sign for the Season’s Greetings cut in the cut file also.

Step 5. I used one of the floral pins to find where I needed to poke holes for them to fit on the leaves. You want it in the center to where you know the flower will cover the metal pin. But don’t get nervous about it since the leaves are on the edges so anywhere in the general center will do.

Step 6. I poked the first one and then used it as a pattern to poke holes for the remaining flowers. I used a Tim Holtz poky tool *okie knows that probably isn’t the proper name for the tool* to poke the holes. I placed a mousepad under the paper so the tool could go through without any problem.

Step 7. Next you will want to put your pins through all the leaves. If some of the pins are off a little don’t worry it won’t hurt even if your paper tears a little it will be sturdy after you get it all together.

Step 8. Assembly your centers on to your flowers and then assembly your flowers on to your green leaves base. I used the Scotch Quick Dry glue since it is sturdy glue and I wanted good coverage. You might have to turn the flowers a few times to get it lined up.

Step 9. I already had my topiary done when I went to do this picture so that is why the Styrofoam ball isn’t covered. But this is when you will want to cover the ball with the flowers. They poke in nice and easy and are very snug, no worries about them falling out by using the floral pins. You might need to move them around some *okie did several times* in order to get them how you want. If you feel you don’t have enough flowers don’t panic you can always cut a few more.

Step 10. Assemble the sign together. You will need to offset one color of the lettering on top of the other to get the shadow effect. Decorate the mats however you desire. I used a 3/8” eyelet in the hole for extra strength so the paper wouldn’t tear when assembling with the ribbon.

Step 11. Assemble your covered ball and dowel rod into the Styrofoam of the clay pot. Tie your sign with your ribbon to the dowel rod just below the ball. And there you have your topiary!

CONGRATS TO THE PINK STAMPER!!

My friend Robyn has been teasing for awhile now about some fantastic news she has and how she was so excited and couldn't wait to share it. Okay to be honest I was getting a little annoyed about being teased so much! *okie rolls her eyes and then sighs deeply*. Well today was the day of the announcement and if you haven't seen the announcement then hop on over to her blog at MY PINK STAMPER and check it out!!

Simple Card using Winter Woodland

Hey guys this is it! This is my week to be one of the guest designers for Christmas With The Cricut. I am so excited to be a guest designer. I can't tell you how thrilled I was to be invited by Tammy, Joy and Melanie. Joining me this week is Barb aka Snowmanlover. Be sure to check out her project at Snowmanlover's Paperie.

For today the assignment was a simple card with a video tutorial. This was my first try at making a video so ya'll don't laugh to hard at me *okie swears she will smack anyone who does*. I was assigned to use Winter Woodland and Mini Monograms on my projects. I know the Seasons Greetings card may look complicated but it really isn't. And the good thing is if you want to make it and have Design Studio and Winter Woodland and Mini Monograms you can make the card. The cut file is set to cut 4. I did use the 12x12 mat feature but if you have a baby bug you should be able to just move the elements around to fit the 6x12 mat for the baby bug.

I used Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses for the patterned paper and Stardream Mica cardstock for the bird and sentiment.


And here is my video debut!!

Tomorrow is the day!

Tomorrow will start my guest designer spot on Christmas With The Cricut! I am so excited to share the projects with you guys. I would like to thank the ladies at CWTC for asking me to be a guest designer. I have gotten to know a few of the other guest designers and look forward to continuing my correspondence with them. Make sure you check out Snowmanlover's Paperie for her projects this week as she is my fellow guest designer for the week.

If you guys didn't see Teri and Christina's projects last week you really ought to check them out. They both did a fantabulous job! *okie still thinks fantabulous should be a word*

Check out Teri's projects at TeriBeri's Creations and Christina's at Creations with Christina. I would like to thank Teri for her help with being able to schedule posts and decrease my stress level about getting my projects posted each day without worrying about time constraints. I would like to thank Christina for all her help with video's. Without Christina's help my video's would not have been possible! THANK YOU SO MUCH LADIES!

Be sure to check back later this week to see when I will be giving away the Winter Woodland cartridge!

Stamp club card

This is a card I made at Stamp Club tonight. I made 4, and that is all I got done. Of course I never get too much done due to all the yakkin I tend to do *okie knows everyone has a hard time believing that*. My friend Linda got 3 different cards done and they were cute cute cute!

I used a stamp that was there to use, I have no idea what it was. I used a Kaliedescope Autumn ink pad. The paper is DCWV Indian Summer.

I pop dotted the layered image mat and the leaf for dimension. The leaf is a punch by EK Success.

The ribbon is 1/4" grosgrain, and the color is banana. Linda and I have taken to ordering our ribbon from Ribbons and Bows Oh My, it is a great place to get ribbon for a great price! They offer a variety of sizes, colors and styles. They ship quickly and shipping costs are reasonable.

Hello Kitty Quest

I got to playing around in Design Studio with the Hello Kitty Greetings cartridge and decided I really wanted this one. I could have gotten it on a website a few months back for like $22 but I didn't get it then, thinking I didn't want it. So after playing I was on the hunt! It seems the font cartridge was one that was readily available. BUT I WANTED GREETINGS! After some searching, and then having a search party on the hunt I was finally able to nail down that elusive Hello Kitty Greetings cartridge! *okie has her friend Scraparazzi to thank for this, Razzi's determination in the hunt is what finally got okie the cart*.

So far I have only gotten to make one card with the cartridge since I have been busy with some other projects, but I thought I would share it with you. It is just a very simple card as I was having problems with the dang firmware update on my Cricut the night I was trying to make it *okie still is cussin under her breath about the wasted time about doing the DS update only to have to go and reinstall*.

Even though it is simple I think she is ADORABLE! *okie's friend Scrappinbee is freaked out by Hello Kitty for some odd reason*. I can't wait to make more things with this cartridge. My daughter is wanting a decal for her car! LOL Guess that can be her 18th birthday gift....a Hello Kitty car window decal! Or even better, my friend Scrappinbee's birthday is coming up, maybe she needs a Hello Kitty car window decal too! *okie grins evilly*

Next week....

is my week to be a Guest Designer for Christmas With The Cricut! AACCKKK!! Have you guys checked out what Teri at TeriBeri's Creations and Christina at Creations With Christina have done so far this week? OMG! I AM NOT WORTHY!! *okie drops to knees and bows down like she is in front of the Queen of England*

I am really excited to share my creations with you guys and even though I hate my voice on video I will be posting at least 2 video tutorials. I have found out that I am long winded and I have to keep editing my video's down quite a bit...plus I had to edit out some rather not so nice words *okie knows everyone is surprised by that*.

So stay tuned guys I really am making things! LOL Each of my projects will be posted with the .cut files so if you want to replicate you may!