Birthday Bucket List!

Hey friends!

As I mentioned in my previous post, Mr Crafty Cow had a birthday this past weekend and so obviously that meant more guy card inspiration!  This one, I made for The Teen to give his Dad after being inspired by something similar I saw in a card shop a while ago.

I created the top layer in Cricut Design Space by creating a text box for the ‘Birthday Bucket List’ using the Boys will be Boys font and then another text box this time using American Typewriter font for the list.  Once I had them positioned where I wanted them I attached them both to a white layer 4.5” x 6.5” and then flattened to turn it into a Print then Cut layer and cut it out on my Cricut Maker.  I cut the bucket using another Design Space Image in black and silver and dry embossed the top layer to add some texture.  I also found the beer bottles on DS and cut 5 of those, again using the Print & Cut feature.  I added some orange card from my scrap box and mounted the bucket on 3D foam tape, tucking the bottles into the top before adding a few sprinkles of clear seed beads to look like ice around the base.   The Dad sentiment is an Anna Griffin die which I cut separately on my Gemini and added to the front of the bucket.  I matted the finished front panel onto some green card stock 1/4” larger all around and then added it to a white 5” x 7”card base.  

Loved how it came out and will definitely be recreating this one again in the future!

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again next time!

Bev x

One for the guys!

Hi folks 

Just dropping in to share a card that I made this week for a friend (actually, it was to give to my DH for his birthday this past weekend as she couldn’t find anything she liked in the shops 😆).

I don’t know about you but I always find cards for the guys the most tricky.  When I get time to craft, I often start with the intention of making a few men’s cards for my stash so that I always have one on hand when I need one, but then when I find inspiration lacking, seem to just switch to auto pilot and before I realise it have made half a dozen cards for the girls!  Doh!

As this was a special request (and also for Mr Crafty Cow’s special birthday!) I had no choice but to dig deep and crack on.  Clearly though this is the best approach for me as I loved the result ... and so did he!

I created a Z card from white card stock and added mats in gold mirror and navy.  I then used my Cricut Maker to cut/draw all the other elements.  Easy peasy!

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again next time.

Bev x

Under the Sea!

Hey Friends!

Bringing you another card today with a painted background, this time using Spectrum Noir Sparkle Glitter inks.   The sparkle doesn't really come across very well (if at all) on a photograph but trust me, it's there and in real life gives a the most beautiful sparkle and shine!

I blended a combination of Icy Blue, Frosted Rose & Winter Plum inks with a wet paintbrush onto smooth white card to create this background, dabbing off on a paper towel as I went to catch any pools of color that I didn't want.  Once it was dry I spritzed it with water to create the 'bleached' effect in places.  The sparkle of these inks really intensifies as it dries - so pretty - and it immediately made me think of an under the sea theme, but instead of maybe the obvious mermaid, I decided I wanted to use a cute octopus (don't ask me why! 😂)

I found this one on Cricut Design Space (free if you have a Cricut Access subscription) and resized to create one large and two small and mounted them on some foam tape.  I trimmed the background panel down to 3 3/4" x 5" and matted it on some foam tape and then on a piece of hot pink card cut 1/8" larger on both sides.  Then, I mounted both onto a light blue A2 card base.   The sentiment is from an SVG file from Kadoodlebug Designs called 'You're my Squishy' which also comes with several cute sea creatures but on this occasion I decided to go with the Cricut image.  

To finish off my card, I added a few hot pink spots to the octopi with a Fuchsia Promarker pen and topped with some Nuvo glitter drops and added a pair of googly eyes on the larger one.  Finally I added some sparkly shell stickers that I have had in my stash for ever and a day (thinking they are now a bit much but can't remove them as they are stuck on firmly!) and a few flat pearls.

I entered this card into two challenges this week over at Splitcoaststampers.com -  Color Challenge and Free for All challenges.

Thank you for you looking!

See you soon
Bev x

Congrats Grad!

Well, what a strange time it has been of late!  I hope you are all staying safe and well and finding ways to keep yourselves occupied during this time of uncertainty.   Right now,  looking after our mental health is just as important as looking after our physical health and whilst we are all under various stages of lockdown/stay at home orders, what better way than to lose yourself in a few hours of crafting!

This afternoon, I disappeared into the Crafty Cowshed to make a card for our son, who will be graduating from High School this coming week - albeit via a 'Drive In' ceremony!  I had made him a card a week or so ago, but wasn't really that enamored with it, and whilst looking for inspiration over my morning coffee came across this super cute digi stamp from KLM Designs and knew I had to use it!

As I am hopeless at fussy cutting, I uploaded the digi into the Cricut Design Space app as a Print then Cut image, resized it to fit a 5.5" square card, sent it to my printer and then had my Cricut Maker cut it out for me ... much easier!  I used Promarker alcohol ink markers to color it in and mounted it on a stenciled background, using a cloud template from Simon Says Stamp and some distress ink, on which I had previously printed my sentiment.  The 2020 image also came from the Cricut Design Space library.  I added a mat in gold mirror card and mounted to a white 5.5" square card.

Of course, like most 18 year old boys, he will probably give it the cursory once over,  mutter a quick "thanks" and never give it a second glance! 😆

Hope you have a go at something crafty this week - it really is a great anxiety buster!

Stay safe friends!

Bev x

Yoda Best!

As Valentine's Day is fast approaching, I though I would share a quick tutorial on how I turned one of the cute images from the Star Wars - Size Matters Not digital cartridge in Cricut Design Space to a Print then Cut file that I could color in to make this fun card.  Of course, this card doesn't have to be for Valentine's Day, this would work at any time of year.  In fact, I am planning to make 14 of these for Mr B's team incentive card for March 😊

There are so many cute images on this cartridge, and if you or any of your family & friends are Star Wars fans then it is a must!  It is not included in Cricut Access though so you do have to purchase it, but I think I will get a lot of use out of it so it was definitely a must for me!

These images are essentially designed for vinyl and therefore they are just a line image and have no background, so in order to turn them into a Print then Cut image that you can color, you need to create one.  This is really easy to do.  I have detailed the steps below:

1. Select Yoda - or any other image that you would like to turn into a Print then Cut, the process will be the same.

2. We need to make the second image just an outline image and remove all the cut lines except the outline, so Click Contour and then Hide All Contours.

3. Click back anywhere on the canvas.  Now we have a background shape to attach the line image to.

4. Next we need to change the color of the background image to white so that we can can make it into a print then cut file (otherwise it will just print as a solid black shape).

5. Move the line image over the top (you may need to bring this image to the front to see it)

6.  Select both shapes by clicking and dragging a box around them and click Flatten. 

7. Ta da!  Now we can have a black & white Print then Cut image and we can proceed as for any other Print then Cut image by clicking Make It on top right hand corner.

I colored mine with my Spectrum Noir alcohol markers but you could use regular colored pencils, watercolors or any other coloring medium that you prefer.

 
Then I created a regular A2 card base in white and added a black mat and another white mat and mounted Yoda on some foam tape for a little dimension before attaching him to the front.  I used the Star Jedi font from Dafont.com to create the sentiment and added a black mat behind before mounting this on foam tape also and adding to the bottom of the card.

Thanks for visiting!

TTFN x