Hello my crafty friends...wow, it's been quite a while since I've posted...seems like my evenings are full..busy is good, right?

Now a quick recap...

When I last posted, I mentioned that I was using my cousin's Silhouette SD machine.  I used it to cut my favorite shoe pattern

I made 5 pairs and gave 1 shoe to several teachers at my workplace.  The machine made cutting a cinch.  Now I didn't play long with it but these are my observations on it.  While it cut quickly and smoothly, it was a bit louder than my cricut.  I didn't read any instructions, just plugged it in, found my pattern and started cutting.  Never needed to change the needle, no double cuts, one cut was enough to cut my american crafts cardstock.  I had to download the Silhouette Studio program but that was easy and I'm glad that it's mac compatible. I did manage to download some of their free shapes of the week but sadly didn't have a chance to cut any of them.  While I do love the machine and secretly wish for one, at this point, having invested so much time and money into my Cricut, I don't think I'll ever get one.  I love all the stuff that Silhouette has on their website especially the Kerri Bradford phrases and such.  Love those fonts...and there are a ton of svg. files that can be used on the Silhouette which allows for more creative freedom without having to spend money on a cart because you like one or two cuts on that cart.

Basically, what I'm saying is that while it's a great machine and worth the investment, this girl is sticking to her Cricut.

Now as for my Cricut, I continue to use my E2 on a regular basis but have recently also started to use my little Cricut bug.  In fact, I used it to make these little bags found on the Monster Mini cart

I gave the bags to the men I work with.  

Cricut Craftroom

I'm happy to say that I have been playing with the new Cricut Craftroom. Initially, I did have some issues with it, like a disappearing cursor but with the latest updates that problem has resolved itself.  I'm still having some minor issues but nothing that is keeping me from using it and having fun.  

I'm limited on crafting space, usually I use the dining room table.  My computer table is also small but allows me to plug in my little Cricut bug and use the CCR with it. 

I did have to plug in my carts when I needed to cut but I understand that will change soon.  Here are some pics of the screen

 This is the border I created for the house. 

I'm excited about the new CCR and I'm hoping to use it more often.  I'm glad they have offered some free digital images and hope to use them soon.  

Now onto my crafting....this is my latest project

I made these cute little houses using the new Sweet Tooth Project cart that was recently released.  They were used as party favors for a housewarming party.  Now the house is actually a store if you look for it on the cart.  It also has a few more layers to it but since I was doing 25 of these, I kept it simple and only cut the main image.  They measure about 2.75 when assembled and I was able to fit two houses without roof tops on one 12x12 cardstock.  Assembling them was pretty quick and easy. What killed me were the small registration marks that are supposed to guide you when scoring.  They were so small my poor eyes were killing me when I was done.  I did all my scoring on the bus, during lunch, in the Dr.'s office while waiting for my husband.  I used seam binding at the top along with some leaves I cut from several carts.

I did this in about 3 colors and stamp each one with a background stamp just to give it some texture and interest. 

Here's a closer look....I used my crop-a-dile to punch some holes on the leaves so that I could run some twine through them and clustered them together. This made attaching them to the top of the house very easy.

Inside each box, I put 5 Hershey nuggets wrapped in designer paper:

 For support, each box has a small square about 2.25 all around to ensure that the bottom of the house didn't collapse with the weigh of the nuggets.

The border that is running around the lower portion of the house is what I designed on the CCR (see top pics of CCR screen). It's a border found in the Mickey and Friends cart, one of Daisy's accessories.  

Here's a closer look at the houses

and this is how they looked at the housewarming party, when they were put out for the guest..

looks like a little village...

I'm happy to say that everyone loved them, they thought they were professionally done.  No one wanted to open up their house because they didn't want to damage it.  I even was approached by one guest and asked if I had a catalog she could go over to select a few favors for her clients. Turns out she's a dental hygienist and the office is looking for something small to give the patients during the holidays. Unfortunately, I didn't have anything to show her and didn't even offer my number....I think I was in shock at the request...oh well, maybe next time.

Things I will do differently on this project:

• Use a heavier cardstock. These were made with several sheets of the Michaels Recollections and Bazzill cardstock.  I think 80lb cardstock would be better and sturdier....which might eliminate the need to insert a square inside the house
• I stamped my sentiment after the house was assembled and sealed which made stamping difficult.  If you look closely you'll notice the sentiment is not clear...next time I will do this before I assemble
• I glued the top of the house but thinking back now, since I was attaching ribbon to the top, glueing was not necessary.  This way guest can open up the house, take their goodies out and then close it up again.

Well, this is all for now.  If you have come to this point then a sincere THANK YOU for reading and visiting my blog...

Sending you crafting wishes,

Jeanette

Simple Halloween

Hello my crafty readers,  just popping in to share a small and simple halloween card I made while watching TV tonight.

The card base is from A Child's Year, the skull is from Gypsy Wanderings. 

I popped the skull with pop dots.

The sentiment is from a stamp from Studio G by Hampton Art.  

I drew the lines around the edges with my gelly roll pen in black.  Nothing too spectacular but I think it's the perfect size for goody bags I will be putting together for a Fall Festival at the school I work at.

Well, this is all for now.  I'm looking forward to the long weekend so that I can get some crafting done!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sending you crafting wishes,
Jeanette

World Card Making Day

Saturday was World Card Making Day and that got me thinking....I don't really make cards to keep on hand.  Since August, I've had about 7 bdays and a wedding and guess what...? NO CARDS from me..to anyone.  I've decided that I'm going to make more cards and be ready for the next occasion.
With that in mind, I made two quick and small Halloween cards...they will either go to students at the school I work at or to my younger cousins..they'll get a kick out of getting them in the mail along with some treats!
Here's a look at the cards:

The images and the card bases are cut from the Smiley Cards cart that is preloaded on the Gypsy.  

The thread on this card is waxed linen thread in black. The sentiment is a Studio G clear stamp from Hampton Art and best of all, it only cost $1.  I bought a few of these. I used white craft ink to distress the edges of the card.  I stamped the sentiment in black Staz On but it's barely noticeable.  I also sprayed the card base with Tattered Angel Glimmer Mist but it's not noticeable on the picture.  It's my first time using  glimmer mist and I only have the one color, Fully Purple. I have to keep playing with it and see how I like it.  Ok, now on to the next card,

Now, this is an oval shaped card, about 3.99 by 2 something.  I used the same type of stamp for the sentiment, just a different series.  Actually it's supposed to run straight across but when I realized that it wouldn't fit, I cut the stamp in half and placed the words one above the other. I like it better this way.  I stamped it using white ink and it just looks a little smudgy but it's easier to read than the sentiment stamped in black on the other card.  The twine on this card is from Doodlebug designs ~ it's in orange, white and black.  The card bases are both cut on purple cardstock from the Recollection set at Michael's.  

Well my crafty friends, this is all for tonight.  I'll be back with a layout later this week. 

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by:)

Sending you crafting wishes,

Jeanette

Challenge me Monday # 79

Hello my crafty friends, just stopping by with  my entry for challenge #79 @ Fantabulous Cricut.  The theme this week is Leaves are Falling, basically do a project with leaves on it.  Well, I recently hosted a dinner party to celebrate a 46th bday for one of my favorite cousins.  While waiting for dinner to be served, his lifetime partner made these great roses out of napkins:

I thought they were so cool looking and halloween-ish so I decided to keep them and put them in a glass vase.  I added some black glitter on the tip of the roses

I felt it needed a ribbon or something around the neck of the vase and when I read the challenge this week, I knew exactly what I would do. I decided on a string of leaves!  I cut several sizes and styles of leaves from different cartridges and then added glitter to the edges.  For the leaves I used black, orange and green glitter from MS that I bought on sale last year.

Here's a look at the end result ~ 

On the dining room table

On the window ledge

My kids think they look awesome.....now all that's left to do is finish decorating the rest of the house!

Well, my ladies...this is all for now...

Thanks for stopping by!!

Sending you crafting wishes,

Jeanette

Throwback Thursdays @ My Creative Time

Hello my crafty friends, it's been a while since I posted.  I've been busy with family time...I love spending my weekends exploring new places with the hubby and the last two kids left at home.  We spent Labor Day weekend at Atlantic City, shopping, enjoying the beach and a little conservative gambling.  Now we are all back into the swing of things with a new school year underway.  My daughter is a sophomore and my son finally started high school and is loving all the new challenges ahead but most of all he loves the school cafeteria.  Big change compared to his elementary school....according to him, it's like being in a fancy restaurant.  But anyway, enough of that....let's move on to my latest project.

I love visiting blogs and finding inspiration and being challenged. Over at My Creative Time, the latest challenge for Throwback Thursdays is to make a card using orange, green, purple and black and most importantly, it has to be Cricutless.  Yes, ladies, it's back to basics!!

 It doesn't have to be a Halloween card but with those colors, I couldn't help myself and it's exactly what I made.

I love all things Halloween.  Every year I buy new things, last year I was really good and didn't buy any new decorations but I did buy a ton of Halloween designer paper pads.  I have so much Halloween paper I don't know what to do with it.  Definitely will have to find more challenges and projects to work on!  Now back to my card...it measures 4.5 x 5.0. I used paper from a 6x6 paper pad from Michael's Recollection. The base is American Crafts black cardstock.  

Ribbon is from Michael's Celebrate It brand and the skull dimensional stickers are from Jolee's Boutique.  I believe it's a new collection this year. 

 

I used my new Martha Stewart drippy goo punch which I'm happy to say I bought at Michael's for 50% off the original price.  I've been dying for this punch and every time I tried to get it, it was sold out. So glad to finally have it!  The sentiment is from Ikadinkado All Hallow's Eve stamp set.

Well, my friends, this is all for now but I'll be back soon with another project.  Thanks for stopping by and make sure you visit Emma over at My Creative Time and join the fun.  You have until tomorrow evening! 

Sending you crafting wishes,

Jeanette