Sweet & Recycled

Today I played--thanks to Alisa Burke's Cloth Paper Scissors article entitled Paper & Plastic. Here are the pictures to prove it. Basically, I fused these plastic bags together by turning them inside out, placing them between two pieces of paper, ensuring the pieces of paper were larger than the bags to avoid a melting mess on my iron, and fusing them with my iron on a medium-heat setting.
Once they were fused together, I cut the fused plastic down to a 12-x-12-inch piece. Then I was like a kid again--I got to play with my acrylic paints, foam stamps, rubber stamps, Cuttlebug/Cuttlebug dies, Sizzix dies, black staz-on ink, glimmer mists, heat tool, embroidery thread/needle, and sewing machine. I even got to use my favorite buttons! It was a blast and a project I was jazzed about--I just couldn't stop until it was completed. Then I got out some black/white polkadot material for the lining, cut it to about the size of the piece of fused plastic, and sewed the wrong sides of the fabric and fused plastic together. Then I just had to fold the fabric into three panels, like a letter, and stitch up the sides of the lower panel. It was actually pretty easy. I think I got ALL of my tools dirty on that one, and my hands, and my desk . . .
















Here's a card I made last Sunday just before the Super Bowl. My daughter's BFF, Katie, was turning 19 on Tuesday, and I was inspired by a card I had recently seen in Paper Crafts' Card Creations, Quick & Easy, Volume 2, designed by Courtney Kelley. Here's my take using the Cricut with Indie Art Solutions Cartridge, some chipboard, the Cuttlebug with Houndstooth Embossing Folder, and October Afternoon pattered papers I had recently got in a Scrapbookloversdream.com kit.



















If you're interested in the cut file, here's the mediafire link--enjoy: http://www.mediafire.com/?wn0mqmzjmnm

Because You Never Know . . .

when you might misplace your Centro or Blackberry and need a hard copy of your contacts. That was the inspiration for this project I completed as one of my Provo Craft assignments for January. I used my Cricut Expression with deep cut housing/blade to cut this chipboard phone book using Wild Card, Fabulous Finds, and Street Sign Solution Cricut cartridges. I also used my black Cricut pen to draw the letters on the tabs. The cardstock used was from Close to My Heart (orange, white daisy, black, crystal blue, orchid bouquet, sweet leaf, sunny yellow, and baby pink). The patterned paper used was the new Fashion District by Me and My Big Ideas. To bind the book together, I used my Bind-it-All and black 1-inch Bind-it-All rings. This project was brainstormed using Cricut DesignStudio.

If you're interested in the cut file, here's the MediaFire link--enjoy! http://www.mediafire.com/?q0glmhe5njr

If you're interested in the contact entry template (jpg) that was printed on each cardstock page using photo-editing software, here's the MediaFire link--enjoy! http://www.mediafire.com/?njzmd3jjtkx

Look what I found!

This is my very first blog post! From this blog, I want to post pictures of my family and friends, my craft projects and design team assignments, and my favorite day-to-day things that inspire me the most. Also, from time to time, I will be posting pictures of items I've found at a local thrift store I frequent--that's another passion of mine--I think this one fuels the others. This will be one of those posts. I found this little gem, a Royal portable typewriter, circa late 1950's, last Sunday. I wasn't looking for a typewriter, but for some reason, when I laid eyes on it, I just had to have it! The price tag was $6.50, it was still in fine working condition, and it was just SO cute! Enough said--it was mine. We located a place online, http://www.typewritersupply.com/, that sells the ribbon for it, ordered some, and they arrived just yesterday afternoon. Later today, I'm going to prompt my kind hubby, Rodney, to install a ribbon--I'm just too scared to touch it that way yet. I think it's going to be a great addition to our family and my hobby for so many reasons. Think of the possibilities--instead of running small tags or journaling spots through my printer, I can just put it through this and hope for the best. No more having to use those rubber stamps that look like typewriter fonts, I'll actually be able to use this. I'm sure I'll still use the stamps, too, but this might just be more convenient. Don't you think? Also, from time to time, I might have to complete a form or two that I don't have stored on my computer. I do have experience typing and using typewriters in my previous lifetime as a medical transcriptionist. Most of that experience was using a computer, but my very first position involved using the good ol' typewriter. I'm very thankful for that experience and thankful for this find! What do you think?