I think I need a support group.

Hi, my name is Kristin and I have a serious problem.

I'm pretty sure it's called Hey-I-Can-Make-That-gitis.  Want to know if you suffer from it too?  Read on.

I've been a little obsessed with Card Creations By Lorraine lately, and a few days ago she made a post about making a cute scarf using the Provo Craft Knifty Knitters.

Here's what I SHOULD have said upon seeing her cute scarf:

"Wow, how adorable!  She's really good.  Well...off to do something I already know how to do!"


What I ACTUALLY said:


"Wow, how adorable!  She's really good.


...


HEY!  I bet I could make that!"


I think it's important here to mention that I have never knitted a single thing in the entirety of my life.  In fact, just the word "knitting" made me think of someones 80 year old grandma sitting in her front parlor with a pair of needles knitting a sweater that you will never, ever wear.

(My apologies to anyone with an 80 year old grandma who like to knit sweaters.  I'm sure they're beautiful).

So, after chatting with the lovely Lorraine on the Provo Craft forums I set off to Wal Mart and Michaels to buy knitting supplies.


(Honestly, I can't believe I just said knitting supplies).



My Wal Mart only had two looms, and luckily, they were the exact two I needed:

Purple Rectangle Loom

Flower Loom

I bought some really nice, thick, soft cream colored yarn from Michaels.  I wish I could tell you the brand but I can't because my dog ate the band that goes around the yarn.

I wish I was joking about that.

I also bought some teal colored yarn that matches a winter coat I wear a  lot for the flowers, and a crochet hook because the guy on You Tube told me so (more about that later).

And then I knitted a scarf.

The End.


...

Come on, did you think I would let you get off THAT easy?  Let me tell you a little of how I did it.

I was actually surprised at how EASY it was to knit my scarf, once I got it going. I started this project last night about 6 PM, knitted for a few hours and went to bed.  This morning I finished the project after church.  So, 5 to 6 hours for a full scarf.  Not bad.

The hardest part was actually STARTING the scarf.  Provo Craft, I love you lots (and I'm sure you love my money), but your instructions for things kind of suck.  Luckily, I had my BFF YouTube waiting in the wings to help me out.  If you're thinking of picking up the Knifty Knitters, make sure to check out THIS You Tube channel.  He also has a website.  His videos on casting on/casting off looms were SO easy to follow.  Once I figured that part out, the scarf was smooth sailing.  I used 10 pegs, I kind of wish I had used a few more to make the scarf a little thicker, but I still love it.

The final touch I wanted to add were flowers using the Flower Loom.  Lemme tell you, these are a BREEZE to make.  So easy and it's really hard to screw up.  The instructions in the package were actually helpful for this one, but there are some great video tutorials out there for these as well.  One is of an 11 year old girl whipping out flowers like nobodys business.  If she can, you can too :)

There was a tiny bit of sewing involved to attach the flowers to the scarf (thanks, high school Home Economics!), but all in all it turned out pretty good for my first attempt at knitting!

Here's one important tip I picked up from Mikey on knitting with looms: use a Styler Pen.

What's a Styler Pen, you might ask?  Now, stay with me, this might get complicated:

Or not.  It's literally a pen with the insides taken out.  You thread your yarn through it and OHMYGOSH it makes wrapping the loom go SO FAST.  Plus, you don't have to cram your fingers in between the pegs.  Win win.

So there you have it.  My mom has already put in an order for one and she wants to wear my scarf to work in hopes that her co-workers will want one too.  I agreed to all this while silently screaming "I CAN'T AFFORD ANOTHER HOBBY!!!"

In conclusion, I have a little request for my bloggy friends out there.

Please don't enable my Hey-I-Can-Make-That-gitis. If you have some super cool craft project that requires going out and buying a bunch of new tools and is highly addictive...

DON'T SHOW IT TO ME!!

Love,
Kristin
:)

A Very Martha Stewart Christmas Card

Alright, I'm going to come right out and say it.

I'm obsessed with the card I made today, and can you believe I only used my Cricut for ONE cut???

But first, a story.

I saw Lorraine make a wreath out of the Martha Stewart Branch punch, and I fell in LOVE.  The only problem is you can't buy this punch in stores anymore.

 I immediatly scoured my craft room, hoping maybe I had purchased this punch without realizing it and and it was just hiding in a drawer somewhere.

No such luck.

It just so happened that my friend Matt, who is Martha Stewart obsessed like me, had this punch and wasn't using it.

I drove to his house and stole it I politely asked if I could borrow it and once I had it in my hands I couldn't wait to do my take on the wreath.

I punched two different shades of green, and glued them to a scalloped circle to create the wreath shape.  To make it shimmery, I took a Mini Mister and added Forever Green Perfect Pearls and spritzed it all over my wreath.  I know it's hard to see in my pictures (sorry for the crappy lighting) but the Perfect Pearls made the wreath shimmery and GORGEOUS.  I added a bow using the MS Ribbon Bow Punch, and I flocked the bow using my Xyron and Martha Stewart Ladybug flocking.

To create the door, I ran a piece of BROWN (yes, the door is brown, although it looks purple in my stupid pictures) cardstock through my Cuttlebug using the Distressed Stripes folder to give it a woodgrain look.  To make the panels, I used the Blackletter cartridge on my Gypsy.  Yes, I know that is totally random and I have no idea how I discovered that shape on there but it works PERFECTLY for door panels.  I made them faux chipboard by gluing three together (I ran the last piece through the same folder as the door before I glued it to the top).  THEN, I sprayed the panels with Tattered Leather Glimmer Mist to make them stand out a little more.  I used a brad as the door handle.

"Merry Christmas" is from the Pink By Design "Scripted Year" stamp set.  This set is BEAUTIFUL.  If you only buy one of her sets (which is scientifically impossible, by the way, I can't stop buying them), MAKE IT THIS ONE. 

So there you have it folks.  My new favorite Christmas card.  As soon as I finished it, I wanted to immediately mass produce them for all of my friends.   Make sure you stop by Card Creations By Lorraine and watch her tutorial on how to make that beautiful wreath.  She's also made one with the frond punch if you don't have the branch punch.

Don't tell Matt, but he's probably not getting this punch back ;)

Recipe:

• DCWV "Christmas Combo" cardstock stack 
• Martha Stewart Branch Punch
• Martha Stewart Ribbon Bow Punch
• Perfect Pearls in Forever Green
• Mini Misters
• Tattered Leather Glimmer Mist
• Cricut Blackletter Cartridge
• Pink By Design "Scripted Year" Stamp Set

Look What Came In the Mail Today!

CJToo Design Team Wednesday: I Am Thankful For...

Welcome to another Craft Junkie Too Design Team Wednesday!  This week, our theme was "I Am Thankful For".  Before I explain my project, I have to thank Tracy over at CJToo for coming up with this theme and letting us have free reign.

Have you ever made a project, and the process of constructing it was totally therapeutic?  That's what this project was for me.  Before I started, I sat down and thought of everything and everyone I'm thankful for in my life, which lead me on the long journey to the completion of this project.

As most of my close friends know, I've been having a really rough time lately.  The stress of unemployment and a constant job search that seems to lead nowhere, coupled with ongoing personal issues have made the past few months difficult for me.  I have amazing family and incredibly supportive friends (plus my awesome bloggy companions) that have made things a little better for me, but there are two very special little "people" who have kept me going, even when I didn't want to continue.

My dogs.

That statement might sound strange to anyone who is not a pet owner, but Bella and Dixie have been my anchor for the past few months.  They love me unconditionally, and the sight of me is always the highlight of their day, whether I've been gone 30 minutes or 3 hours.  There were times when I honestly didn't want to get out of bed, but I had to in order to give them the care they need.  I could be having the absolute worst day ever, and all they have to do is come curl up in my lap and stare up at me with those adorable eyes, and I can't help but smile.


They are actually doing that as I type this :)

So, I really wanted to make a project dedicated to my dogs.  I came up with the idea of doing a paper bag mini album, so I could have a book full of pictures to look at whenever I felt down.  I had never made a paper bag mini before, so I found instructions on YouTube and gave it a go.

Here's the final result:





I tried to list everything I used in the video, because I used a lot of different cartridges and inks.  Hopefully I remembered them all :)

 I hope you truly enjoyed this mini album, as I had a BLAST making it.  Make you you hop over to http://www.craftjunkietoo.com and see all of Design Team 2's projects today!

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

SweetSassyDiva Design Team: "Joy" Banner

Our challenge for SweetSassyDiva's Design Team project this week was to use the color green, use our Cuttlebug in some way, and to use felt.  I decided to make this "Joy" banner using chipboard coasters.  I used lovely green damask patterned paper from DCWV's "Christmas Combo" stack and inked around the edges of the coasters with Peeled Paint Distress Ink.  I really wanted to use my new digital carts on my Gypsy, so I used two in today's project, Blackletter and Christmas Solutions.  The word "Joy" is cut from the Blackletter Cartridge using the font and the shadow.  I ran the regular word through my Xyron and then used Martha Stewart Flocking in Ladybug to give the letters a "faux felt" effect.  After I flocked the letters, I ran it through my Cuttlebug using the D'Vine Swirls folder.  I love how you can emboss flocked letters!

The snowflake is from the Christmas Solutions cartridge, and I cut the regular snowflake and the shadow as well.  I flocked the snowflake using MS Flocking in Swan. 

I punched holes and set eyelets in all of the coasters using my Crop a Dile, and strung ribbon between the holes.  I think it turned out great and I love the traditional Christmas look :)

 

This project came together in a SNAP thanks to my Gypsy girl.  I used a rounded 4 x4 square as a template to make sure I had everything sized correctly, then laid EVERYTHING out on one mat!  That's right, I got all my cuts done on one mat, in one turn on the Cricut.  Love it!

Wal Marts Black Friday Ad: Who's Excited???

ME!!!


Friday someone had posted on the Cricut forums that Wal Marts Black Friday Ad had leaked online and there were some KILLER Cricut deals inside.

The ad has since been taken down, but I managed to snag a screenshot from the original blog Don't Tread On Me before it disappeared.

Look at those ADORABLE new Expressions!  I'm still using a hand-me-down Baby Bug, so I am SO EXCITED to snag one of these on Black Friday.  Plus, it comes with TWO new cartridges!  I just can't decide between Aqua and Plum.  I guess I have a few weeks to make up my mind!  :)

Also, can we say NEW LITE CARTRIDGES!  And they're only $20!  I can't make out all of the titles, but I can see Cupcake, Jolly Holidays, Four Legged Friends, and possibly Pet Shop.  I cannot WAIT to see these carts, and hopefully this means the price on the original Lites will drop as well :)

I also heard that EVERY Wal Mart in the country will have an Expression and Lite display, even if they normally don't carry the Cricut Lites.  This is great news for anyone that doesn't have a Wal Mart that carries the Lites nearby!

So what are YOU looking forward to this Black Friday?  Will you be shopping at 12:01 like me?

SweetSassyDiva Design Team: Smiley Cards Project

Our challenge for this weeks SweetSassyDiva Design Team was to design something using Smiley Cards.  I happen to LOVE this cartridge, so the hardest part for me was deciding what to cut.


I finally decided on the cute little birthday cake.  I figured I could make a sweet birthday card to keep in my stash, and use my favorite new card in the process :)

Excuse the lighting, I couldn't get it quite right for this picture

 

 

 

 

 

I cut both the cake and the actual card base from the Smiley Cards cartridge (love the extra features!)  I re-sized the base in my Gypsy to be approximately 5.5 x 5.5" and cut it from craft colored cardstock.

I couldn't find a patterned paper that I really liked for this card, and my Cuttlebug has been feeling horribly, horribly neglected lately so I took some pink Core'dinations paper and ran it through my Cuttlebug using the Paisley folder.  I sanded the embossed image so the lighter pink color would show through.  I think this is the first time I've used the Paisley folder, and it turned out so stinking cute!

I also cut the cake using the craft colored cardstock, and purple Core'dinations paper that I ran through my Cuttlebug with the D'Vine Swirls folder (a must have folder!) and sanded.  I used my white gel pen to stitch around the card, slapped on some brown stitched ribbon, and voila!

The sentiment is from Pink by Designs "Take the Cake" stamp set.  There are so many wonderful birthday sentiments in this set I had a hard time choosing one!

I'm so sorry for the lack of posts lately, my crafty friends.  I've been working hard on a project for next week's Craft Junkie Too Design Team and I haven't had much time for "just for fun" crafting.  I'll try to have some more posts this week!

 

How I Make Card Templates Using My Gypsy

Hi everyone!  I just wanted to share a quick video with you on how I make card front templates on my Gypsy.  This is a huge time saver for me, because I don't have to second guess if my image is going to fit on the size card I want or not.











If you haven't tried out this technique already, give it a shot!  It's helped me out tremendously :)

SweetSassyDiva Design Team: A Thankful Fall Card

I told myself I wasn't going to buy any Cricut Lite cartridges.

I got Cupcake Wrappers when they first came out, because I thought they would be good for my baking business (which they are!).

But then I said I was done. I get all of my cartridges online and I NEVER pay more than $25, so I SWORE I would never pay $39 for a Lite cartridge.

...


Then I saw Celebrate with Flourish.

It's truly a cart you can use all year round, and I LOVE the flourish designs.

So I caved yesterday when I saw my local Wal Mart had one copy left.

It all worked out though, because I needed to make a fall project for this weeks SweetSassyDiva Design Team, and I found a perfect image for my card.

Recipe: 

• Cricut Lite "Celebrate with Flourish" cartridge
• DCWV Amber Autumn Stack
• Recollections Spice Market Pack
• KI Memories "Fall Icons" Stamp Set
• Peeled Paint Distress Ink
• Vintage Photo Distress Ink
• Brown Braiding Cord

This is a 5 1/2 by 5 1/2 inch card.  I cut the green and patterned mats in 1/4 inch increments and inked around the edges.  I cut the Pilgrim hat (with shadow) at 4" and inked all the cuts with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  Before I applied the hat, I used braiding cord around the card, secured in the back with a glue dot.  I heat embossed the "Thankful" sentiment using black ink and clear embossing powder.

Do you remember that stamp set?  I got it for $3 at Tuesday Morning.  Totally a worthwhile buy!

I adhered the hat to the card with Pop Dots, and voila!  A simple and elegant Thanksgiving card. 

Make sure to stop by SweetSassyDiva and check out all of the design teams projects this week!

Have a FABULOUS Friday everyone! 

"Homemade for the Holidays": Photo Album Word Book

Happy Thursday everyone!  Welcome to the first post for my "Homemade for the Holidays" series.  I am making a lot of my Christmas gifts by hand this year, and I wanted to share them all with you.  Hopefully you will see something that you would like to make yourself :)

My first project is a photo album word book for my friend who has a two year old son.  I thought this would be a perfect "brag book" she could take to work and keep in her office.  I made it interactive and brightly colored so people would want to pick it up and look inside :)

I used the following things to make this word book:

• Make-The-Cut to weld the book together (I made it before I got my Gypsy girl!)
• DCWV "Nana's Kids" and "All About Boys" stacks for the patterned paper
• Cricut Cartridges
• Create a Critter
• Tags, Bags, Boxes and More
• George and Basic Shapes
• Birthday Cakes
• Mini Monsters
• Cinch Binding Machine
• Walnut Stain Distress Ink
• Martha Stewart Photo Corner Punch
• Martha Stewart "Cherish" PATP Set
• Martha Stewart "Bubble Bath" PATP Set
• Martha Stewart "Ribbon Loop" PATP Set

Here's the video, I hope you enjoy it!

CJToo Design Team Wednesday: Fall Is In The Air!

Happy Wednesday everyone! Today is Design Team Wednesday, and here is my project. This weeks theme was "Fall is In The Air", and we were asked to create a fall project that can be hung somewhere (door, wall, window, etc). I was visiting Marys blog at Cardz TV and she had made a cute little Halloween door hanger out of a paper towel roll.  I actually had an empty paper towel roll sitting on my craft table, just waiting to be made into something, so I took Mary's awesome idea and made it my own.

Recipe:

*Paper Towel Roll

*Chipboard

*DCWV "Amber Autumn" stack

*Recollections Spice Market Stack

*Large Ribbon

*Cricut "Holiday Cakes" Cartridge

*Gypsy Wanderings Cartridge

*"Thanksgiving" Seasonal Cartridge

*Perfect Pearls

*Tim Holtz Distress Ink

I ran the paper towel roll through my Cuttlebug using the A, B, and C plates.  After several good passes, I sealed the edges with Zip Dry so it would lay completely flat.  I covered the flat roll with patterned cardstock and then punched two holes on top and one hole on bottom with my Crop-A-Dile, and then set bronze eyelets in each hole.

For the spinning pendant, I found a perfect image on the Holiday Cakes cartridge.

  I cut it first out of recycled chipboard, and then covered BOTH sides with the brown and orange (I used "Flip" on my Cricut to make the back mirror the front).  That way, when it spins, both sides look the same :)  To finish off the pendant, I inked the inside and outside with Spice Marmalade Distress Ink

Aren't the little pumpkin and leaf so adorable?  I cut them both from chipboard, and the Gypsy Wanderings cartridge.  I inked the edges in Spiced Marmalade and Walnut Stain Distress Ink, and then mounted them on large foam dimensionals so they really stand out from the paper.

"Give Thanks" is cut from the Thanksgiving Seasonal Mini.  I'm so glad I got that cartridge!  There are some great elegant images and sentiments for Fall and Harvest projects.  I inked the leaf on the word "Thanks" with Perfect Medium and then brushed on some Forever Red Perfect Pearls.  It makes it super shimmery :)


So, what do you think?  I LOVE how it turned out, and it was so easy!  It's hanging off of our mailbox on the front of our house right now and it looks very cute.

Make sure you stop by Cardz TV to see Mary's original Halloween banner, and then hop on over to Craft Junkie Too to check out the rest of Design Team #2's projects!

Have a fabulous Wednesday everyone!

Playing with Smiley Cards!

I just HAD to make a card using my new Smiley Cards cartridge today.  I had this card rolling around in my head ever since I was able to access the Smiley Cards overlay on my Gypsy.


Today is ALSO Momo's Tuesday Challenge, and today's challenge was to use embossing, either heat or dry.  My poor Cuttlebug has been horribly neglected these past few weeks, so I pulled her out and used the Spots and Dots folder on the background of the card.  The cute little flower in the corner is from a tin of prima flowers I got at Tuesday Morning, held in place by a bead flower brad.  The sentiment is from Pink by Design.  I seriously love Sarah's stamps!

 

Recipe:

• Smiley Cards Cartridge
• DCWV Sweet Stack
• Cuttlebug Spots and Dots Folder
• Martha Stewart Border Punch
• Peachy Keen Everyday Face Assortment
• Stickles 

Tomorrow is Craft Junkie Too's Design Team Wednesday, so look out for my post!

Don't forget to update your Gypsy!

Today is November 1st, and the 6 cartridge ProvoCraft update is LIVE!

All you have to do is:

• Run Gypsy Sync.  It will prompt you to go to the Cricut website and download Cricut Sync.
• Install Cricut Sync, and then Sync your Gypsy.
• If you are already running version 0206:0206, you will not need a firmware or content update.  It will really quickly update your library and your new carts will be on your Gypsy!
• To check, click on the overlay in the bottom right of your mat screen.  Then, click on the white bar in the bottom left where a cartridge name is displayed.
• There should be the word "Show:" at the top of your screen.  Click the white bar and then click on "Linked Cartridges".  Now, only the cartridges you have linked to your Gypsy will be in the box below.
• Have fun!

I will have a card from Smiley Cards for you tomorrow, I've been playing with the cart for the past two or three days just waiting for the update, and now I can finally cut from it!












Have a fabulous Monday everyone!!