Fairy Cut Fridays: Cutting Vinyl to Etch Glass

Greetings, Followers.

Those of you who have been a CardMonkey follower for a while know that on Fridays, I have been posting crafts I make using the terrific Fairy Cut software and my Cricut Expression. Please read below (in purple) to learn more about this software, and to be eligible to win BLOG CANDY for commenting on this post. 

For today's project, I combined what I learned about glass etching on this week's U-Stream video sponsored by Alex and Ruthie, with Fairy Cut, to make this pretty glass bowl for gift-giving.

To make this, I found an image of flowers (three daisies on a stem) on www.UniversalScrapbook.com. This site has many terrific images set for cutting, embossing, stenciling, etc. Check it out! Fairy Cut uses files in the .WPC format and they drop right onto your on-screen Cricut mat.

Just "group", "copy" and "paste" the single image 2 more times to make this longer string of daisies. The on-screen image looks like this when you're ready to cut:

Now, cut your vinyl. I used some scrap vinyl that I purchased from www.TradingPhrases.com. This company occasionally sells a "grab bag" of their vinyl pieces that have been used for their larger cuts and it is VERY reasonable, under $10 for a large assortment of vinyl. On the site, search "Cricut Vinyl" to see if there is any available for purchase when you visit.

When cutting your vinyl, you'll want to "kiss cut" it to leave the backing in place while cutting through the vinyl image. To do this, scroll back the pressure on your Cricut. I set mine at 2 "low" pressure. When you're done, you'll want to "weed" out the positive image from your vinyl. You can discard this, or use it. I actually used pieces of my image (the flowers and some leaves) on some wall art I made. Here is how that looks:

What you want to save is the "negative" image. Peel it back -- carefully, holding the backing paper almost horizontally. Once you have the image weeded and peeled out of the vinyl, cover it with transfer tape to hold all the little pieces in place. Next, affix the vinyl to the bowl, being careful to avoid air bubbles and ripples at the image edges. Here's how it looks when you're peeling:

I applied the black vinyl (any color will do!) to a Pyrex bowl that I bought at the grocery store. It has a lid and I'm using it to send my homemade candy to our last Blog Candy winner, Star! (Be on the lookout for it, Star!)



Using a sponge or regular paint brush, apply a thick coat of the glass etching cream to the exposed areas (non-vinyl) on your glass bowl. I used Armour Etch. Here's how the bowl and vinyl look after being gooped up:

The Armour Etch directions (and Alex and Ruthie) said to leave the etching cream on for about 5 minutes; I left it on longer only because I went out for a long walk with my daughter and grandbaby in this beautiful weather! No harm, no foul. Just rinsed it off when done, and thoroughly washed the bowl, my sink, the brush and my hands. All DONE!

Thank you to Alex (http://www.youhadmeatcraft.com/) and Ruthie (http://www.septemberninth.blogspot.com/) for their informative video that led to this project inspiration.

Here is a quick video I found on YouTube that has the entire process shown in 1:26 minutes. Enjoy!!

 
About Fairy Cut Software and the chance to win it:

This software is similar to -- and I think, better than -- Make The Cut or Sure Cuts A Lot. If you're thinking that you may want to invest in a program to use your Cricut to cut without having to rely on the images on a Cricut cartridge, try out the FC, MTC and SCAL .. they all have trial programs.

 

Now, on Fridays, if you comment on my Fairy Cut post here, on my blog, you have one chance to win a Fairy Cut free software license, generously donated by FAIRY CUT each month to one of my followers. You may comment up to four times (for 4 Fridays) per month -- once each Friday. Duplicate entries will be removed. Winner will be chosen at random by the Fairy Cut manufacturer, and notified directly with his/her free software license and access code. Thank you to Fairy Cut for their generosity toward my blog followers!

 

DON'T FORGET to stop back tomorrow (Saturday 2/19) when I'll be participating in the Friendship Blog Hop, with a fun project and NEW BLOG CANDY you won't want to miss!!

Proud to have won another blog award

Winners, please add this tag to your blogs!

Wendy at Wendy's Creative Crafting Corner has very kindly passed along the Liebster Love Blog award to me.  thank you ever so kindly, Wendy ... I am humbled!

The Liebster Love Blog award is designed to recognize bloggers who have fewer than 300 followers but whose work deserves gigantic praise.  To accept the award, I am to spread the love by recognizing up to five blogs whose work I follow and admire -- sort of a chain letter of love!  I'm pleased to pass this honor on to the following:

www.craftychicsblog.blogspot.com

www.prettypaperprettyribbons.blogspot.com

www.expressionsbyelaine.blogspot.com

www.stellarscraps.blogspot.com

www.simplyshaddock.blogspot.com

To my followers who haven't yet discovered these blogs, stop on over to each and offer your congratulations.  Heartfelt ♥ to Wendy for the recognition.

Peony in mixed media and dimensions

While I am busy in the Craft Zone making projects for upcoming blog hops (shhh, the projects are a surprise!), I am reprising a post from last year when I had fewer followers.

This is a dimensional paper piecing.

First I made the peony using pink cardstock. I cut 4 five-petal flowers, each 1.5" in diameter. I cupped each of the flowers and then curled the edges of each flower to give them dimension. I think if I were to do it over again (and if I had the ink color I wanted), I would have inked the edges of the flowers first. I stacked the cupped flowers together, pinching them at the flower's base to give it dimension. I hot-glued the flowers together at the center and set it aside while I decided about the card's base.


I found this lovely mint green paper with the pastel birds among a stack of favorites. There were just two sheets of this paper in the collection, and I decided to use both of them. For the background, I cut out the image to size, highlighting the image of the birds in the floral tree. (The rest of the paper is solid mint green.) I ran the paper piece through the leafy Cuttlebug folder twice -- first on reverse to deboss, and secondly on the front of the imprint to emboss. I feel this gives the image more realistic texture.


Then I fussy-cut the images of the birds, leaves and flowers from the paper print (of the second sheet) so I could use them to layer atop the image I had embossed/debossed. I gave extra texture cuts to the birds' tail feathers and then decided to adhere the first bird at a lower level than the second; the second I raised with pop-dots. I curled the tail feathers as well as some leaves and flowers, to give dimension.

Next, I made a matching peony bud by cutting and curling one of the pink petals cut from the larger flower.


I mounted the large peony on the upper left of the card, using hot glue for stability. I then created a hot-glue and gold bead ball to use as a center-point accent for the lower left flower, and a smaller one for inside the bud. (You may not be able to see the beads in the bud too well in the picture -- sorry!) I put small black embellies on the birds' eyes, imprinted the inside of the card with a personalized message, and VOILA!


This card would need a gusseted envelope or box for mailing, which would be a bit of a problem I suppose. I'm hand-delivering it with cookies, however -- so that's one way to solve that dilemma!

Making a Card Box: A Work in Progress

Last night (and into this morning, too), I was privileged to participate in the Pajamas, Popcorn and Projects UStream event hosted by Alex at www.YouHadMeAtCraft.com and Ruthie at www.septemberninth.blogspot.com. It was so much fun to see these two crafters at work via webcam and to chat with other crafters via Instant Message. 

Does anyone remember the old days when all we had were scissors, white glue and photo corners?! 

At any rate, one of the very fun projects that Alex showed was a card/stationery box that Alex called a "Transformer Box". 



Photo lifted from http://www.youhadmeatcraft.com/ ... thank you!


Hers looks like this (and go to her blog to see other pics/credits).  Having seen it done, I dreamt all night about making a template for a similar project, and sharing it with you all here. 

Now first a warning: this is a work in progress.  I'm not done ... I haven't dressed or embellished it, and I haven't decided whether to make the lid that Alex and Ruthie showed.  This modifies their design a bit, but includes the elements I wanted: a place to hold larger cards, smaller cards and a matching pen.

This design takes 3 sheets of 12x12" paper (with a lot of scrap left over).  Here is the template for the first page, which is for the large main area of the box:

Fold along the score lines, and it should look like this: 

Assemble the box with an open top. It will be 7" wide by 5" high, and 2" deep.  In the little 1/2" square cut out area, use a piece of the trimmings to make a V-holder for the pen.

Here is the template for the second sheet. First, trim it to 6" x 12"

You'll be assembling the box to affix to the bottom and the front of the main box.

It should look like this:

The third sheet (for which I did not make a template, as it's self-explanatory) is trimmed to 7" x 12" and then scored and folded so it wraps around the box from the bottom and up over the top. 



Note that my box doesn't have the front notebook area that was shown last night, just because. 

Alex and Ruthie also showed us techniques to etch designs on glassware.  That will be my next project, as soon as I purchase what I want to etch.  I've been wanting to try this for a while, and Alex & Ruthie were inspiring! 

Today, I also worked on some layouts and things to show in next month's Disney Pixar Blog Hop (Mar. 26), being coordinated by my "Sistah" Shawn Mosch at http://www.craftychicsblog.blogspot/ and http://www.cricutsearch.com/.

I've been blessed to find so many kindred "sisters" here in the papercrafting world ... and I'm delighted you're here!

A Lovely Birthday Card ...

.... if I do say so myself!



This is how it presents, flat.

This is how the card opens/unfolds. 



While working on cards to post for the upcoming Motions and Folds Card Blog Hop (Feb. 26), I experimented with the tri-fold shutter technique. 
As long as I pay attention to the measurements when cutting instead of becoming engrossed in HGTV on the television, these are easy to make.

Start with a piece of cardstock that's 12"w x 6"h.  Lay the card horizontally (12") along your surface or Scor-Pal, and score at 2", 4", 8" and 10".  You'll  now want to cut along the width from the 2" mark to the 10" mark, but put the cut 1.5" into each side of the 6" side.  (This is where I got distracted on my cutting!)  Zig-zag fold. 


It's dawning on me that my description of the technique just using words is not doing it.

For an excellent video on how to make a tri-fold shutter card, click on the lilac-colored blog hop picture/icon on the right hand side of this blog. --> There, you will find a video I lifted off of YouTube.  The video was done by Sarah (one of the hop stops) whose blog is at www.simplyshaddock.com.  Sarah is  does a PERFECT job in showing this technique in this, her first (of what I hope will be many) videos!

After you cut the card, dressing up the plain cardstock is up to your imagination.  For mine shown here, I used a favorite Brenda Walton stack of papers that has a lot of flowers.  This card is for a dear friend Barbara, who annually grows the most amazing English garden in blues and purples. 

The butterfly was cut using a Cricut cartridge, and I Stickled the body and antennae.  I also punched the eyelet lace paper using a Martha Stewart punch-around-the-paper, and adorned the bugs with Stickles and the flowers with pearls and Liquid Pearl.  I typed the sentiment using my computer, oh, and I machine stitched around the small bug pictures.

I ♥ how this turned out, and hope you do too!
... and Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours!!

ProvoCraft Introduces "Cricut Craft Room" at CHA

No doubt about it, we're all anxious to see what ProvoCraft has in store for us with their new "Cricut Craft Room"  Here is a video that describes what ProvoCraft promises will be a free service! 

Cricut Craft Room was described at the Winter 2011 Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) convention, and captured all Cricuteers' attention.  I've not heard it discussed as to when this will be available, but I am sure we're all waiting impatiently.

FANTASTIC WEBSITE!

Until then -- and I suspect, even afterwards -- don't forget that all of the Cricut cartridge images are catalogued on the fabulous (and free) Cricut Search website.  Shawn Mosch and her "staff" ... that is, her hubby, son and daughter ... developed this site and keep it up to date on their own time/dime. 

Click on the caption below the Cricut Search logo above (or click HERE) to check it out, and make it a "Favorite" if you haven't already.  Go to the site and grab its blinkie!  Also, show Shawn some ♥ by "buying some coffee" (e.g., making a contribution). You'll be glad you did!

Explosion box: Wow factor!

The sun is not yet up on this winter's morning, but a little "personal summer" (that is *HOT FLASH* grin) woke me up waaaayyyy too early today.

Thankfully, there is not much exciting in my e-mail and the dogs are still asleep, so I will take this opportunity to share a little springtime sunshine ... with this Explosion Box of fun.

I hope you'll see more of these sorts of projects on the upcoming Motions & Folds Card Hop (Feb.26), starting here at CardMonkey and traveling on to another 14 fabulous hop stops. 

To make an Explosion Box, start with a 12x12" sheet of cardstock -- the heavier weight, the better. Cut off 4" squares at each of the four corners, leaving a "cross" shape.  Score for folding the inside 4" square so the "arms" of the cross will fold up/down in your explosion.

You can fill the center of your explosion box with just about anything you can imagine. 

Here, in an Explosion Box I made for my Mother, I built a paper flower box and filled it with all sorts of flowers on springs (saved from old click-pens) and bees on floral wire.

I found the image "Bloom Where You Are Planted" online and scaled/printed to size.  The birthday sentiment was cut using a Cricut cartridge. 

I experimented in making the box lid and wound up basically making a trimmed-down version of the box bottom for the lid.  I created a punched loop trim for the bottom of the box, pulled up the four corners of the box bottom and tied it all with a cute coordinating ribbon. 

For more information on the upcoming Motions and Folds Card Hop, please click HERE.

Enjoy your day ... hope yours is as "warm" as mine is, whether your summers are "personal" or otherwise!