Saturday, January 31, 2009

Up Up and Away

Last gift card holder. This one doesn't conform to the guidelines for the swap, but it is one that has actually already been given away. Because of the size, it can only be cut on the Expression. I used George and Basic Shapes along with New Arrival, but you could revise for Plantin Schoolbook (explained later).

Our friend Katie is adopting, and I needed something for her shower. I didn't want to go real babyish since he will be 20 months old. I decided the airplane on New Arrival would be really cute if only it would work. It turned out perfect! I did it in our company colors and used his birth date for the tail number. Not only that, he's coming from China, so he'll be coming home on an airplane.

Cut one Plane in your main color. Don't worry when it cuts off the top wing. We don't need that one. Cut two of the Plane Solid in whatever color you want to show through the windows. This will also cut off the top wing.

Check your Parts page before cutting to make sure everything is still hidden that needs to be hidden. You need the bottom wing, tail wing and propeller in one image. The other image should have the top wing welded to two rounded rectangles. Check out Narelle's blog if you need help with the Hide Contour feature. And cut the Parts in your accent color.

You may want to cut the full plane out to help you align the wing in the correct place (May want... tab).

Go ahead and attach your gift card to the middle section of the card (glue dots work great), add your message on the bottom section and fold. Glue your two solid planes together making sure that you do not glue where the card goes in. Watch where the bottom of the card will go because it is a tight fit and you don't want to close it up. Glue the detailed plane on top, add wings and propeller, insert card and add tail number if desired. I was running late and used my label maker for the tail number.

My card looks different in the photo as I have redesigned it since then. Also, I used George to make the card because I prefer the rounded corners. However, you could replace those two George pieces with a rectangle from Plantin Schoolbook if you don't have George.

Yes, Katie LOVED it! And we can't wait to meet Luke!

Airplane Gift Card

Happy flying,
Jill

Welcome Baby

I actually started this one before the rattle but got stuck and had to come back to it. Once again, it can be cut on any of the machines. It's come down to 3 files; it was just easier. One is for George and Basic Shapes, the other for Plantin Schoolbook and the third has all of the pages for both. They also use New Arrival.

Cut the bottle in your main color. It will cut the nipple and ring from the bottle itself. Cut two bases in the color you want to show through the slits of the bottle. The base will also cut off the nipple and ring. All you need is the bottle.

Click on the card page and look carefully. How many nipples do you see? If you see two, use the Hide Contour feature to hide the left one. For some reason, the hide is not staying when I save the file. To be on the safe side, make sure the right ring and its slits are still hidden too. If you need help with this feature, visit Narelle at Cricut Lovers Guide to Design Studio.

Cut the card in the color you want for the nipple.

Click on the Neck page, make sure the nipple is hidden and cut the ring.

OK, assembly time! Glue the two bases together ONLY along the edges and NOT at the top. Make sure the bottom part of the card will fit between the two bases. Glue the bottle onto the base (including at the top). Layer the ring onto the card. Attach your gift card to the middle section of the card (glue dots work great for this), write your message on the lower section, fold and insert between the two bases. Embellish as desired. All done!

(Note 2/15/09--Hide Contour problem has been resolved and files should be problem free.)

Baby Bottle Gift Card
Baby Bottle w/ George
Baby Bottle w/ Plantin

Jill

Shake Rattle and Roll

Ok, let's back up about 18 years. This holder is for a new baby. Again, it was designed to be cut on any of the bugs with your choice of base in either George and Basic Shapes or Plantin Schoolbook. The other cartridge needed is New Arrival.

There are actually two versions of this one. If you click on the picture for a larger view, you should be able to tell that the inside of the circle at the bottom of the rattle and the left loop of the bow are cut out in this sample. Thinking some people might not want those cut, I covered that space up best I was able on the other version.

Again, you only need to cut your base and the Cut Page. The layer for the rattle embellishments is designed for two versions--a squiggly line or the flowers--and a small bow. I didn't need the bow and wanted this one for a girl, so I hid the parts that I did not need to cut. If you are not familiar with the Hide Contour feature, you might want to go visit Narelle's blog, Cricut Lovers Guide to Design Studio. (She has some other great tips too.)

Before giving this card, I would bling it up with some glitz in the center of the flowers and probably some Stickles glitter on parts of the bow.

Rattle gift card holder Version 1 - No holes (at least VERY small)

Enjoy,
Jill

Friday, January 30, 2009

Congratulations Graduate!

CarlaSchenk from the Cricut message board issued an invitation to join a swap for gift card holders. How could I resist with all of the great designs people were sharing at that time. I didn't want to miss all of the fun. (http://www.cricut.com/messageboard/tm.aspx?m=3592445)

The way time flies these days, I realized that graduation would be here before we knew it and decided to start there. This is the card I came up with.

This can be cut on any of the bugs using either Plantin Schoolbook or George and Basic Shapes along with Base Camp and Locker Talk. I would do it in their school colors if known and pop-dot the cap. I also inked the edges for a little more color on this one.

Click HERE for the cut file. Although there are several pages to the file, there are only two that you will need to cut: whichever base you want to use and the Cut Page with the layers.

Good luck to all of the 2009 graduates in your life.

More holders to come....

Jill

Friday, January 16, 2009

Kreativ Blogger Award

Wow! I've been given an award by Kristina at Moonrose's Musings. Thank you SO very much, Kristina! I feel so honored. (Actually, I feel honored just to know that some of you are visiting my blog.)

It appears that with receiving this award, I am to name 7 of my favorite things and nominate 7 creative bloggers and ask them to do the same.

My list of 7 favorite things would currently be my:
1. God
2. Family
3. Friends
4. Job
5. Pink
6. Scrapbooking because of all of the wonderful friends it has brought me
7. Cricuts and all of their related stuff (which has to also include my laptop)

The 7 bloggers I wish to nominate are:
1. Amanda - Cricut Creations by AMKScrap
2. Kris - blankety blank blank
3. Brenda - Brens Designs
4. Diane - Capadia Designs
5. Susan - Busy with a Cricky
6. Linda - Just for Sharing
7. Jen - Brain Things

Kristina, thanks again for this honor.

Jill

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Storage using Plantin Schoolbook OR George Only

What a great weekend! Dave and I went to Plainview yesterday to visit our friend Kay and her family. Although the drive up was rather dreary with no sun, we had a great time there and the drive back was nice.

I had a request to redesign my storage using different carts as the requestor did not have what I was using. Well, I figure everyone has either George or Plantin Schoolbook, so I added on to my latest version of the boxes with dividers so that everything is made exclusively with George.

Then I recreated what I could using Plantin Schoolbook only. However, I was only able to make the score marks for the first box. Every time I try to add to it, I get the dreaded X. The first box can give you an idea of where the marks go and just use your scoring blade on the others. Yes, it even happens on Fit to Page AND with Plantin Schoolbook. Ugh!

I also added a page to both of them just giving the general size for the tags. I just select an image I like on the cart the tag will go on. Watch what you're selecting. On some images, you might want to use the blackout or shadow feature so that the tag doesn't tear with use.

Terrifically Tacky Tape is GREAT for putting these together.

Here's the file for George ONLY. And the file for Plantin Schoolbook ONLY.

Click on Storage under Labels to see all of my posts regarding storage.

Have a great week,
Jill

Friday, January 9, 2009

Word Books

Oops! I forgot to upload the word book files that I recently created. Both of them were made with George. The softball one also uses Sports Mania.

Here you go: Softball and Nana.



Thank goodness for Friday! Hope you all have a great weekend!
Jill

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Happy New Year!

Just wanted to say Happy New Year to everyone. I hope you and your families have a safe, healthy and happy 2009!

Jill