Singer Futura with Cricut, Round 2

I've been successful with the above union again--like a match made in heaven. Just a quick rundown on how this is accomplished, I die cut the desired images using my Cricut with the respective layers. Then I scan it into my computer and retrieve it in the software that came with the Futura--Autopunch. Then I embroider it onto the desired material. For the sweatshirt, I embroidered it onto white canvas, trimmed it out with microtip scissors, applied Fray Check to stop any fraying around the edges, applied heat-n-bond, and then ironed it onto Gwen's pocket of her sweatshirt. She loves it--as do I! Thanks for stopping by to take a peek. If anyone has any embroidery tips, please share--I'm a newbie.

Happy Thanksgiving! Color Combos #136 & 138

My turkey is in the oven as we speak! Perfect time to blog and share some layouts with color combinations from Color Combos Galore. My house is still very quiet this morning--the only sound being the pitter-patter of puppies' feet.

For the first color combo, #136, I used the boy, time, and scalloped circle cuts from the Graphically Speaking Cricut Cartridge. That's my husband, Rodney, showing our little boy, Raiden, some things about the drill press--it wasn't on of course. I couldn't help snapping some pics of their time together.

The second color combo, #138, put together by the very talented Jennifer Barksdale, features the two newest additions to our family. We got them the weekend right after Halloween, eight-week-old Pomchi's, Dixie and Dottie. Believe it or not, they are both from the same litter. They've captured our hearts! We named Dixie after my mother-in-law. She doesn't know we even have them yet--that will be one of the surprises Thanksgiving will bestow upon her this year--LOL! My husband used to have a dog he named after his sister, Carrie, that passed away a few years ago. I thought it must be time to have a puppy named for his mother--such a cute name. For this Puppy Love layout, I used the Sweethearts Cricut cartridge for the title, border, and shaped tag, and my Futura 250 for the blanket stitch and decorative stitching on the border.

As always, thanks for stopping by, Happy Thanksgiving, and happy shopping Black Friday!

My new Futura and my Cricut!

Recently my husband purchased for me a Singer Futura CE-250--my early, early Christmas present. It's an amazing sewing machine, but more importantly, it's an embroidery machine. It came with software that will digitize images you download from the internet or scan into your computer. Well--ding-ding--I started thinking how many ways I can mingle my Cricut with my Futura. This was my first attempt. I scanned in the "Daddy's Girl" die cut from one of my daughter's favorite cartridges--Hannah Montana.

The second image was my very first tshirt done with my Futura. I used a dingbat font for the snowflake.

If anyone else has used a Cricut die cut image with their embroidery machine, please let me know. I'd love to see what you've come up with using the Cricut. Also, I'm very new to machine embroidery, please share any tips you think I might benefit from after viewing these images--thanks in advance.

Happy Fall and CCG#135!

I haven't visited my poor little blog in weeks. Fall has definitely crept up on us. I've found myself busily crafting away, making things for the coming holidays, utilizing every crafting tool I own. That's not a bad thing--it's a very good thing actually. I'm hoping to be posting some of those projects soon, but until then, here's some color inspiration for you thanks to Janet from Color Combos Galore.

When browsing through photos from last Fall, I came across these pictures of Rodney and the kids carving pumpkins. I just couldn't resist making a layout using that photo of Gwen posing for her daddy. Quite the likeness don't you think? I used the Street Sign Solutions Cricut Cartridge with the basic black Cricut Color Pen for the title. Also, I very happily got to utilize some decorative stitches from my new Futura. That tool has been a lot of fun. I've even embroidered some t-shirts for Gwendolen which will hopefully be posted soon as well.

If you want to participate in the color challenge, follow the link to Color Combos Galore http://colorcombosgalore.ning.com/ and post your layouts there. Make sure you label your layouts with the color combination number.

CCG#131 with the new SpongeBob and Stamping

Wow! It's been over a month since I've posted. Lots of things going on at home, kids starting school, exploring new hobbies, and trying to stay up on some old ones, too. Janet has a new color combo up at Color Combos Galore featuring the following colors: tropical teal, sweet vanilla, lipstick red, and glorious gold.

In this layout I used the new SpongeBob cartridge for the wordart--Best Day Ever cut. The big arrow-shaped speech bubble used for the photo mat is from the new Stamping Solutions Cricut cartridge. Also, I used my basic black Cricut pen to help outline my design. DesignStudio helped me sketch out my ideas and set my layout in action. I thought this would be a good opportunity to throw in some Sassafras Lass, some Prima flowers I've been hording for the past year or two, and an Autumn Leaves stamp I purchased recently on sale. The pictures feature my daughter, Brandi, with her good friends, while on a rafting trip.

Challenge #131 will extend to September 6. If you want to participate in the color challenge, follow the link to Color Combos Galore http://colorcombosgalore.ning.com/ and post your layouts there. Make sure you label your layouts with the color combination number.

As always, TFL!

CCG#129 & A Child's Year

New color combo + new Cricut cartridge = inspiration! And my favorite kind, too.
Janet from Color Combos Galore put these colors together for July 4th or summer-themed layouts. I couldn't resist using the 4th of July silhouette cut from "A Child's Year" along with the pinwheel and the beach ball cuts from the fun+fabulous new cartridge. The title cut is from Lyrical Letters. These are pictures of Raiden sporting his mohawk given to him by his big daddy and some of the things he's been doing this lazy summer--relaxing, having fun with sparklers, and floating in the pool. Challenge #129 will extend to August 2. If you want to participate in the color challenge, follow the link to Color Combos Galore http://colorcombosgalore.ning.com/ and post your layouts there by next Sunday to be eligible for the monthly RAK. Make sure you label your layouts with the color combination number.

Color Combo #128

It's Player's Challenge week at http://colorcombosgalore.ning.com/. Luisa Dugas has created the above color scheme for our enjoyment. It really sparked a fire in me to create a layout I've been wanting to do for quite a while. These two love to sit, cuddle, and laugh it up. Gwendolen has always been a "Daddy's Girl". I caught the two of them sitting in the back yard catching some shade about a week or two ago and just couldn't resist capturing the moment. I used the new Hannah Montana Cricut Cartridge for the title, some Heather Bailey patterned paper, Autumn Leaves and Maya Road stamps, and had to add a little embroidery around the edges. These two crack me up and I'm glad I got a chance to put it down and will keep it forever. If you want to participate in the color challenge, follow the above link to Color Combos Galore and post your layouts there by Sunday to be eligible for the monthly RAK. Make sure you label your layouts with the color combination number.

Color Combo #125

It's Designer's Challenge Week at Color Combos Galore: http://colorcombosgalore.ning.com/. The color inspiration for my layout came from CCG#125 created by Color Combos Galore designer extraordinaire, Janine Koczwara. Leeann Pearce is the featured member--YAY! Leeann! If you want to participate in the color challenge, follow the link and post your layouts there by Sunday to be eligible for the monthly RAK.

Let me explain this layout. Disneyland is our family's favorite place. The last time we went, in December 2007, we had planned and saved for months and stayed almost a week at the California Grand. It was also the week of my husband's birthday. This was his present to us--he's such a sweetie--really looking forward to this trip as you can tell. We took the kids out of school for the week. As soon as we got there, one-by-one, starting with Raiden, each of us got extremely sick. To top it off, it rained for two days straight--I mean RAINED--notice the ponchos my husband and Raiden are wearing in the middle picture? We still managed to have a good time, it was Disneyland during the holidays after all. To this day, I have not been THAT sick. When our family gets sick now, I ask the question, "Are you Disneyland sick?" That way I know just how sick they are. HA! I hope we can go back someday . . . and not be sick.

For the title, I used the Hello Kitty Font Cricut cartridge, cut from chipboard, and outlined using the basic black Cricut pen. The flowers are from the Graphically Speaking Cricut cartridge, outlined with the basic black Cricut pen, and cut in different sizes for layering.

Hope you all are enjoying the weather and having your kiddies at home for the summer--I know I am.

Color Combo #123

That's a layout featuring my oldest daughter and son--they're the middle two. They are almost three years apart. I never thought I'd ever see them at the same prom. My daughter's boyfriend, Max, is a bit younger than Brandi, a senior, and Jake's girlfriend, Richelle, is older than Jake, a senior. This picture was taken last Saturday--I must have taken at least a hundred pictures. It was Jake's first prom and Brandi's last prom. These four are the beautiful people in my life, therefore the title.   

The title was created using the Tinkerbell and Friends with Opposites Attract Cricut cartridges, and the photo corners are from the Storybook Cricut cartridge.  Also involved, the basic black Cricut color pen, which outlined "Beautiful" and the photo corners. I had help making the background using a brush I found online in Photoshop CS3.  The color inspiration came from CCG#123 created by this week's Guest Designer, Jennifer Armentrout at Color Combos Galore (http://colorcombosgalore.ning.com/). Yumi Takasaki, aka marimari, is the featured member. Be sure to head on over for the inspiration from these talented ladies and CCG's design team. If you want to participate in the color challenge, follow the link and post your layouts there by Sunday to be eligible for the monthly RAK.

I hope you all have a safe and relaxing holiday.  I've been doing a lot of sewing and surging lately and have some projects to get caught up on.  Thanks for coming by and see ya next time!

Color Combo #122

I hope everyone had a nice, relaxing Mother's Day. My husband surprised me with mookies in the morning, which doubled as snacks throughout the day. For dinner, he presented a coleslaw, provolone, and grilled Korean tri-tip sandwich on potato bread. That was yummo! My littlest ones drew portraits of me all day long. Brandi, my oldest really outdid herself. She got me a Singer Ultralock machine which is something I've had my eye on for quite a little while now. I just love it. It's much easier to operate than I thought it would be and it's pretty quiet, too.

The very talented Debbi Tehrani is the color combo creator for Designers Challenge Week at CCG. I always love to see what she's come up with using the weekly challenges, and I was very pleased to see her own color combo--very pretty. You'll enjoy the inspiration from the rest of the CCG designers and our featured member this week is Esther Andrews--I adore her style with the digi: http://colorcombosgalore.ning.com/

This layout features recent pictures taken of Gwen and my hubby enjoying a few cups of tea together on a Saturday evening. My hubby is not a small man. He's about 6'2" tall and is a good size. He's sitting in Gwen's "Dora the Explorer" chair--isn't he adorable. He even poses for my camera. He always makes times like these special for our children and really goes the extra mile for them. I love him for so many reasons.

Again, lots of fun with my Cricut on this layout. I used a lot of my favorite cartridges, and a shape from a cartridge I got recently--the chipboard mat with the circles came from Locker Talk--lots of good cuts on that cartridge that I hadn't noticed before. Soon I think I'm going to utilize the album on that cartridge to make a keepsake for Gwen's teacher. I've been taking photos of the class all year when visiting--I think she might enjoy that. I also got to use my Cuttlebug with textile embossing folder for the tea set, etc.

Thanks, Debbi for the combo! If you want to participate in the challenge, follow the link and post your layouts there by Sunday to be eligible for the monthly RAK--Good luck!

Color Combo #121

Emilie Ahern is the guest designer at Color Combos Galore this week. She has created quite the inspirational combo--by far this one is my favorite. There's just something so invigorating, yet feminine about the orange and pink together--I just love it. You'll enjoy the inspiration from the CCG designers and our featured member this week is Anthea Peterson: http://colorcombosgalore.ning.com/

I got to play with the connected alpha from the new Lyrical Letters Cricut Cartridge. Love it! Lots of choices on this cartridge for alphas and card fronts, sentiments, and goodies.

If you want to participate in the challenge, follow the link and post your layouts there by Sunday to be eligible for the monthly RAK--Good luck!

I hope all of you mothers have a fabulous Mother's Day.

Color Combo #120

Janet Perafan-Babar, CCG's DT coordinator, provided this week's brilliant color combination. It was just the combo I needed to complete a layout featuring pictures of my oldest taking the plunge and moving out on her own. It's bright, funky, and I love the results. These are just a few of the pictures I could get of Brandi's big move day. Our youngest had the hardest time with it, but thankfully, in the end, he had accepted it better knowing he was getting his big sister's old room. I used quite a bit of Cricut die cuts from various cartridges, i.e., Doodlecharms, Wild Card, Going Places, My Community, and Storybook. This was a very fun color combination--I really needed that yellow this week and it went well with the photos--for us that was one of the hottest days this year. I also used some Heather Bailey patterned paper, Sassafras Lass buttons, and MM tiny alpha stickers with Heidi Swapp journaling spot.

Check out what the designers and featured member, Lisa Saunders (Lisa Funky Fairy), did with this combo--http://colorcombosgalore.ning.com/. If you want to participate in the challenge, follow the link. Post your layouts there by Sunday to be eligible for the monthly RAK.

April Provo Craft Projects

Hello, all! Hope you've been enjoying your area's springtime weather. It's been a little chilly here this week, which I enjoy, but I think the kids want it a bit warmer. This month's Provo Craft assignment was to use the Home Decor Solutions Cricut cartridge. I made a stacked box set, some framed art, and a card. The stacked box set and frame were found locally in a second-hand store. The stacked box set was originally decorated with a Christmas theme. I used a 2-inch square from Plantin SchoolBook Cricut cartridge with my Cricut Expression set on autofill mode, and cut out several pages of squares, so that I could decoupage the squares over the Christmas theme. Then I used wordart from the Home Decor cartridge with shadow and blackout to decorate each box. I really like the look and feel of this wordart--something I think is appealing to everyone's eye. Now onto the framed art--Because the frame had a metallic edge to it, I chose to use some foil cardstock by American Crafts. This cardstock is really great to use in conjunction with the Cuttlebug and embossing folders. I found a package of it at Michael's--about 30 sheets, three each of 10 metallic colors--great bang for your buck. The inner window of each panel was embossed using orange foil cardstock, embossed using the Paisley embossing folder with Cuttlebug. I then used the Home Decor Cricut cartridge to cut some bugs and wordart, again using the blue, gold, black, and red foil cardstock. I think this would look really great in a boys room, a garden patio, a green house, etc. Those bugs are too cool! For the card, I used Accent Essentials Cricut Cartridge and DesignStudio software to weld the scalloped square into a card base. Then used Home Decor for the elegantly embellished frame and wordart. That's a picture of Raiden when he was about three days old. It was originally taken using my son's cell phone, so I played with it a little in Photoshop until I liked the way it looked and printed it out for the frame of this card. Hope you like my projects--I sure had fun making them.

Color Combo #118

It's Designer's Challenge week at CCG.  Yours truly was the designer and I had a blast coming up with this combination.  I so hope you like it and hope it inspires you to scrap those Easter photos taken this past weekend.  The featured member this week is Angelica Turner.  Angelica and the designers did a fabulous job with my combination.   Head on over to CCG and take a peek at how they interpreted the challenge (see sidebar for link).  In my layout I used pictures taken of Gwendolen a couple of years ago, before and after an easter egg hunt.  The cuts were from the Graphically Speaking, Home Accents, and Stretch Your Imagination Cricut cartridges with basic brown Cricut pen.  

Color Combo #117

The very talented Revlie Schuit is the guest designer this week at CCG.  She's come up with a tasty combo.  I love the soft blue and edgy green meeting up with that fun shade of red.  The names of the colors are spring green, blue easter egg, white bunny and tsourgrisma red. Here's the layout I came up with.  When the kids were out on spring break this year, we took a short trip to Fairy Tale Town.  This is a beloved, affordable local attraction that has been around for fifty years.  The attractions there are based on fairy tales and nursery rhymes.  When I was a child, every kid in the Sacramento Area would go to this park on a field trip with their school--it's right across the street from the Sacramento Zoo.  I went there, my husband went there, I guess every adult I know in this area went there, too.  Then when I had children, I took them there.  It was quite the nostalgic trip.  Not only for me, but for Brandi.  She's going to be 19 this Easter.  She jumped at the chance to go with me again and dragged her boyfriend along who actually hadn't been there.  I hope you all have a happy, fun-filled, magical Easter.  Thanks so much for stopping by my blog.

Color Combo #115

It's Designer's Challenge Week at Color Combos Galore! Belinda Venables created this lovely, soft, vintage palette for our challenge this week. Don't you love it!

These pictures of Gwen and Raiden were taken a couple of years ago for a school project Brandi was doing in her French class. She wanted to take pictures of Gwen in pigtails and Raiden in overalls. While I was taking photos, my husband, being the good sport that he is, was in the background goofin' off, making them laugh. I've got quite a few of my favorite things on here--some BoBunny and Basic Grey patterned paper, Sassafras Lass button/flower embellishments, a Designer Digitals quote, embroidered border, SLD designs (the felt journaling spots), machine stitched/gathered ribbon, and tiny alpha. Hope you like--I know I had fun putting it together.

There are so many possibilities for this color combo and already, quite a bit of inspiration in the gallery over at Color Combos Galore. I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with. Remember: You must upload your layouts to the gallery at Color Combos Galore by 11:59pm Sunday at the end of the challenge week to be eligible for the monthly drawing. Here's a link: http://colorcombosgalore.ning.com/

Provo Craft Projects for March

I was asked to make a 3D project for Mother's Day. Here's what I came up with using Cricut vinyl, alcohol inks, and the new Calligraphy Cricut cartridge. I cut the images from the latte-colored vinyl. While the images were still on the Cricut cutting mat, I applied alcohol inks, allowed time for them to dry, and then applied the images to the cup using the Cricut transfer tape. I really like how this turned out. The application of the alcohol inks came from necessity. I didn't have any colored vinyl that would coordinate with the cup I had. The cup was purchased from that local thrift store I like to frequent.



For my second March project, I was asked to use the new Sesame Street Cricut cartridges. Again, I used another item found at that local thrift store--the plain black frame. This frame holds a picture of Raiden last month and his current "favorites" list. I think I like this so much, I'm going to have to do another one to keep.



For the third March project, I was asked to use the new Sports Mania Cricut cartridge. As a family, we don't play a lot of sports, but we do play a lot of Wii Sports games, so I took this opportunity to make a layout using pictures I took of our Mii's. Looking through the images of this cartridge, there are a lot you can use even if you don't play sports. I love the clipboard image, which would be quite useful for cards and mini albums. There are also a lot of background images, like overlays, and layout-looking images, as well. This fabulous cartridge was designed by Art Warehouse's Danelle Johnson. It's pretty cool.



I had a lot of fun completing my assignments this month. Thanks for looking!

Color Combo #114

As soon as I saw this week's color combo from Color Combos Galore, I knew exactly what pictures to use. This layout's pictures are of my youngest little girl enoying a drumstick on our front porch last Summer. I love the little dress she's wearing and how pretty pink her lips and cheeks are. I used the Hello Kitty Font cartridge for the title--"A Scoop on the Stoop". Using the deep-cut housing with blade, I cut the welded title (using Cricut DesignStudio Software) from layers of chipboard, then assembled it, and finally, adhered a white piece of cardstock that was first outlined with the basic black Cricut pen. The ice cream cone was cut in the same fashion from the Indie Art cartridge, and then further embellished with Stickles. This was done for CCG#114 at Color Combos Galore challenge blog: http://colorcombosgalore.ning.com/

Egg-cited!

I'm getting there, especially after completing the past couple of layouts. Spring is in the air. Brandi's birthday will be on Easter this year--there will be a lot of celebrating to do. She'll be 19--YIKES! I do not feel like the mother of a 19-year-old (well, sometimes--ha!). Recently I submitted a couple of layouts to Color Combos Galore's Design Team call and was accepted! I love that blog's inspiration factor--it's a hot spot for creativity. Lots of talent there and everyone is so friendly and eager to share. It's definitely a blog you want to visit. Check my sidebar for the latest activity. Also, I was recently asked to contribute another layout to the Got Sketch? blog. Another favorite blog of mine for inspiration. I'm always looking back to this blog for sketch inspiration. Valerie Salmon's sketches are very user friendly. Most of them allow multiple pictures, and if just using one picture in your layouts, they're easily adaptable. Check my sidebar for the latest activity at the Got Sketch? blog.  The above layout is my contribution.  These were pictures taken of my family when we visited Daffodil Hill last spring, just one day before Easter. Later that spring, we visited again for Brandi's 18th birthday.  It's a place you can take lots of pictures, have a picnic, and just run and play with your family.  Definitely an Easter-ish spot for us.  I used the Hello Kitty Font cartridge with basic black Cricut pen to help me create the title.   I couldn't decide which color to use on the title, the red or the yellow, so I just gave up and used both, and in the end, liked using both.   

This second "layout" is a faux french memory board I used to hang on my wall.  These pictures of Gwen and Raiden were taken on Easter 2007.  I used the Wild Card Cricut Cartridge to help make the faux memory board.  It's the Icon Feature using the Argyle shadow cut.  While in the Cricut DesignStudio software, I stretched the cut to fit a larger canvas than a card, outlined a piece of white cardstock with the yellow Cricut pen, cut, and then cut the image again using a double-sided patterned paper by BoBunny.   The white cardstock pieces were embossed using my Cuttlebug/Houndstooth embossing folder. Then, I assembled it onto a blue cardstock base on top of a very thin piece of chipboard, stitched it for texture, added the pictures, embellishments, etc., and then attached the ribbon for a hanger. To give it more structure, I attached another sheet of very thin chipboard to the back.  Can you believe my sewing machine stitched through all of these layers?  Well, it did--it's my new hero this week.  I've also been taking the Sew Scrappy Happy class over at 2Peas.  I've been stitching for a little while now on my projects but could never master the zigzag stitch while taking corners.  Thanks to Jennifer Johner's help, it's finally happened.  Here's a photo to prove it!

World Thinking Day

Do your brains hurt from using them SO much this past weekend? Well, if they don't, maybe you didn't know this past Sunday was World Thinking Day. Each year on February 22, Girl Scouts participate in activities, games and projects with global themes to honor their sister Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in other countries. The theme for World Thinking Day 2009 was girls worldwide said "we can stop the spread of AIDS, malaria and other diseases." Gwendolen is a first-year Daisy, so we didn't provide a project, but we eagerly got to participate. This layout features a picture of Gwendolen (in the middle) participating in her first friendship circle with fellow troop sisters. If you look closely, towards the top of the picture, you'll see the legs and feet of the other participants in the circle. There was quite a big turnout, at least for our county--over 100 Girl Scouts. For the layout, I used the Hello Kitty Font, cut from a couple of layers of chipboard and multi-colored cardstock, with black Cricut pen. I also used Going Places for the globe. Again, I just had to use that Cuttlebug butterfly die/embossing combination, using ink to get that double-color look. If you're interested in the cutfile to see how this layout was put together, here's the mediafire link--enjoy!: http://www.mediafire.com/?nznyyzqzwtw

Kindergarten Cutie

Isn't she cute? Here's a layout featuring pictures of my youngest daughter, Gwendolen, when I helped her class put together some projects (Cricut, of course) at her school last Halloween. That was a lot of fun AND a lot of work! Hello Kitty is also pretty cute herself. On this layout, I used the Cricut Hello Kitty Font--such a versatile font. The title was cut from a couple of layers of chipboard and cardstock and then embossed using the Houndstooth Cuttlebug folder. Kitty was also cut from a couple of layers of chipboard (the shadow) and then put together using cardstock, Stickles, and Making Memories brads. Again, I used the Cuttlebug buttons embossing folder with ink to help achieve a double-colored image. I then cut them out which made the border at the bottom and up the right side of the photo collage--it might be a little hard to see, but it's such a fun technique! Again, I utilized that typewriter for the journaling. If you're interested in this cutfile to see how it's put together, here's the mediafire link--enjoy!: http://www.mediafire.com/?kyiewmyax1z

Brandi & Max Relax

I guess we take a lot of couch pictures. As I was reviewing the past few months' photos, that's about all I could see--either in the background or our family on it. This picture sums our couch up pretty well. Notice the my-size Barbie kickin' it? It must be tough being Barbie. Anyway, this picture is a favorite "couch" picture of mine. Look from the left--it starts with the dollhouse next to the couch, pillows and Barbie follow, and then you come around to the two of them, Max and Brandi. It's rare you see her feet up anymore--she's been so busy with school, work, and taking care of all the little things. When I do see her, though, she's with Max. They are practically inseparable. Love is in the air.

For this layout, I used the Cricut Calligraphy cartridge and Cricut DesignStudio Software to weld the white decorative background. I then employed the basic blue Cricut pen to draw that decorative background on the aqua-colored cardstock and then placed the white mesh on top of it. (If interested in that cutfile, which includes two other welded backgrounds from that cartridge, please follow the mediafire link below). The butterflies were cut (one felt and a few chipboard) using the Cuttlebug and then embossed using the Cuttlebug with different inks/glimmer mist to enhance the embossed image. The curly border is a Sizzix border die--so cute and fun! For the little journaling I have, I employed that typewriter again.

Mediafire link for cutfile--enjoy! http://www.mediafire.com/?d1mydyyml2z

His First Dance & A Little Peace in My Heart

It finally happened. Jake went to a school dance, and he allowed me to take pictures before he and his pretty girlfriend, Richelle, left for Winter Formal. This is of particular importance because, if you notice my gallery, there are very few, if any, layouts with Jake. He is my teenage boy who detests being in front of my camera, EVER. So here are a couple of shots of the happy couple and a layout featuring the two of them before leaving for the dance.

For the layout, I used the new Cricut Calligraphy Cartridge. With the help of Cricut DesignStudio, I welded the decorative tag to help make the two borders. Also, I used the basic black Cricut pen to draw "Jake and Richelle" on the large tag, and then used a red Galaxy Pen to fill the names in. The basic black Cricut pen was also used to draw around the leafy-type decoration on either sides of the large tag before finally cutting them out. Remember the typewriter I found at a local thrift store a couple of posts ago? I used it to type some journaling on the tag located just below their names.

I made a cut file that includes small, medium, and large borders using the decorative tag from the Calligraphy Cricut Cartridge. Here is the mediafire link--enjoy: http://www.mediafire.com/?zg4dyfvgmgd


Finally, a little peace in my heart. That's what I must be feeling. The other day, I wanted to create a bag that would hold all of my things. I'm a pocket freak! There are 12 found in this bag. Out of necessity and in the spirit of Valentine's Day, I created this bag using fabric found locally at my favorite thrift store and some of my scrapbook supplies--my older Sizzix dies created the felt heart with peace sign located on the front.