Coffee Anyone?

This is a gift card I made back in March but wanted to do some revisions to get it ready for you. And I wanted Sherry's OK to post it.

A small group of us get together when we can, and we were late celebrating Kay's birthday because "when we can" hadn't happened in a while. So we celebrated both Kay and Dawn's birthday at the same time, and I was in charge. haha As usual, I had waited until the last minute to get it all together and was trying to make cards and pack for Ferncliff at the same time.

Kay's gift was a gift card to Starbucks and needed an appropriate holder. I remembered Sherry's from our gift card swap (http://www.cricut.com/messageboard/tm.aspx?m=3592445 - post #67) and emailed her requesting the file. Once received, I realized that I didn't have any acetate and no time to get any, so I proceeded to revise her file to work for me. See Sherry's blog here.

I was very pleased with the outcome. More importantly, Kay loved it!


The base of the card is a blackout coffee mug flipped for the back and a coffee mug for the front. I used 2-sided paper so that the inside of the cup and the back both looked nice. Be careful how you glue the pieces together so that the card can slide in and out.

I needed the steam and the coffee to be attached in order to use them to pull the card out of the holder. And we know how I like to have an additional card to fold over for the sentiment or what have you. Between the steam, the coffee and 2 cards, it was longer than the mat. Since I didn't want the steam to be the same color as the coffee anyway, I chose to cut the top of the steam off. I then cut a front and a back (flipped) steam in white to lay over the attached steam and cover up the missing part.

That's the only way it works on the Baby Bug. I've done another file for the Expression and included 2 different pages for the card. One will cut the top off as explained; the other is laid out diagonally and will cut the whole thing. You'll only need to cut one or the other.

You can place your paper so that the swirl cuts in a different color.


George was used for the cards and Plantin Schoolbook for the flowers. You can substitute as needed.

Dawn's card was much quicker as I decided on Debbie's cell phone gift card holder (http://www.cricut.com/messageboard/tm.aspx?m=3592445 - post #51). She received a Hobby Lobby gift card but had just gotten a new Blackberry, so I thought it was appropriate.


I think they both turned out pretty cute!

Cut file for Expression

Cut file for Baby Bug

Latte,
Jill

Pooh Card

I'm on a roll. Aidan's card is also ready, and his birthday isn't until July. Of course, I still have Mother's Day, graduations and who knows what else between now and then. lol

Front:

Inside:

Envelope:

I probably should have explained my file on Maddy's card, so I'll try to do better on this one. But then, you might be accustomed to my files by now.

Several of the pages in the file are for preview. I tried to provide some instruction on the tabs. Cut the Details page first and leave the mat in the Cricut. Then cut the Shadow page. The sign will not cut any details. I wasn't using Hundred Acre Wood (HAW) but couldn't get all of the lines to hide, so I welded it. If you're going to use HAW, you might want to unweld that image.

Paper Layout shows where to put the paper on the mat so that you can cut the layers using the Cut Page. I had to enlarge the image that cuts the antennae in order to get a cut that didn't fall apart. And there's a rectangle from George that will cut off the bottom part of Pooh. If this is not cut off, he will show through the log layer. If you do not have George, you can replace with another rectangle or just cut the part off with scissors. You may have to do some trimming anyway.

Oh, and I also hid HAW on the sign on the Cut Page and replaced it with Aidan. You'll probably want to delete Aidan and put another name or unhide HAW.

And I put the Honeypot on a separate page in case it's not wanted. Left to right, it's the shadow, honey and pot.

Winnie the Pooh Card

Enjoy,
Jill

"That buzzing-noise means something. If there's a buzzing noise, somebody's making a buzzing-noise, and the only reason for making a buzzing-noise that I know of is because you're a bee. ....
And the only reason for being a bee that I know of is making honey.....
And the only reason for making honey is so as I can eat it."

Elmo Card

Did you figure out the purpose of that last cut file? The one with the two's? Maddy's birthday is coming up in June, and I'm actually accomplishing something ahead of time--her birthday card. Dave figures I'll lose it before her birthday gets here, but we'll just have to wait and see.

The theme of her party is going to be Elmo, so I used Sesame Street Friends but decided on Hello Kitty for the font.

Front:


Inside:


And the envelope:


No, I didn't cut the envelope itself. It's from a box of pastel invitation envelopes that I got at WalMart.


And the cut file.


Now to get busy on Aidan's card.

Have fun,
Jill

Update! Update!

With Easter last weekend and us going to Branson on Monday for a few days and some of the girls coming over Friday night and spending ALL week celebrating my birthday, it's been rather busy around here. Dave told me today that my birthday has GOT to end--a week and a half is quite long enough. I tend to disagree though. lol

Here's the beginnings of a card that I've started. Can you guess it's purpose?


"Jill, what's the update?" you ask. Well, Dave's been busy once again, and I am now using my cricuts completely WIRELESS!!!!!! While I was headed out the door this morning to check out Michaels' cartridge sale, he asked if I would be willing to stop by Best Buy. What am I looking for? A bridge. A what? A bridge. At Best Buy? He printed it off which was a really good thing since the Best Buy guys knew less than me.

Dave removed the cable which was connecting my USB hub in the last post to our network and replaced it with a Linksys - Dual-Band Wireless-N Ethernet Bridge. Model: WET610N Best Buy SKU: 9213861 Cost: $99.99 (thank goodness for tax refunds). The bridge now does the talking to the wireless router. The cricuts are connected to the hub; the hub to the bridge; and the bridge talks to the router. Well, I guess it's actually the other way since my laptop talks to the router which talks to the bridge which talks to the hub which tells my cricut to cut my file.

Limitations? Whatever your wireless limitations are. If your laptop will work there, the bridge will work there.

Dave did want me to let you know that according to Linksys, it will connect to any router; however, we are connecting to a Linksys router. Therefore, we can't vouch for any other router.


I also wanted to share that Dave has attached my power strips to the bottom of my scrap table and hooked and tie-strapped my wires so that all of those wires aren't hanging down and laying on the floor. And I don't have to sit on the floor or do exercises to plug things in. Laurie, if you're reading this, I thought this would be great for you if you're able to do so. Of course, it helps that my table is wood.

I'll finish up my card later, but here's the file for this part in case you have a use for it. It's made with Hello Kitty Font and George (but any rectangle could replace George). And it will cut on either size.

2 Card Front


Take care,
Jill

Remote Cricut Cutting

OMG! I am totally in Cricut/Design Studio heaven! Well, as close as we can get right now. lol

Last year, I asked Dave if it was possible to make my Cricut wireless. (Someone had discussed it on the message board.) He thought it could be done but would require additional equipment. I decided my laziness did not justify the cost of said equipment.

Laziness? you ask. Well, DS is on my laptop, and I like to sit in my recliner to design, do email and read the message boards. It's just a pain to unplug my laptop, find a spot for it on my scrapping table, plug it in over there, plug it into the Cricut and test a cut file. And then reverse to come back to my recliner. I know, I could let it run on battery; however, I always end up over there longer than expected and run low on battery power.

Heikenn recently brought the subject up once again on the message board, and I asked Dave what he came up with last time. He found the info and printed it out, but I never got around to posting it to the board. What he didn't tell me was that whatever that was did not get good reviews.

After stopping by Michaels and to get gas on the way home yesterday (basically, dawdling), Dave seemed a bit excited when I got home. He said he had something to show me. He said it was the first of many birthday presents. (My birthday is Tuesday, and I never know what he's going to come up with for it and Christmas.)

It's a Belkin F5L009 Network USB Hub. Description: Wireless access to USB printers, media readers, external hard drives and more using your existing wireless network. Reviews: excellent! Cost: $99.99.

The hub has to be plugged into the network and the Cricut has to be plugged into the hub. But then my wireless laptop can cut from wherever I am in our house. If I had Design Studio on my pc, I could also cut from there.

See scan below:


I tested some cuts last night and was able to cut on the Expression but not on the Baby Bug. This morning, I had a thought. I loaded a mat on each machine and connected a jukebox to each one. I knew that Jasmine was connected to the Expression, so I selected J on it but didn't pay attention to what mat I had on the screen. It was the 6x12. I was partially outside of the cut area for the E, so it did not completely cut (top strip left edge--click image for larger view). Then I selected the moon on New Arrival since I knew it was in the Baby Bug and moved my J over behind the moon. I clicked Disconnect for the E and then clicked Cut in DS. It cut both the moon and the J on the Baby Bug even though Jasmine was connected to the E (bottom strip). I then added Hello Kitty to the Baby Bug jukebox, disconnected the Baby Bug, connected the E, moved the moon and J over on the virtual mat, added a design from Hello Kitty and clicked Cut. The E cut the moon and J but not the Hello Kitty design since it had not read that jukebox since adding the cart. I then closed the file, selected the J from Calligraphy Collection and the moon again from New Arrival. When I clicked on Cut, it read the jukebox connected to the E and cut only the J.

Through trial and error since last night, I have learned:
1) I can use both my Baby Bug and my Expression, just not at the exact same time
2) Both machines can be connected at the same time but one takes priority and I haven't figured out for sure what determines that (my Expression currently takes priority)
3) I can cut on the Expression, disconnect it (clicking a button--NOT unplug), and cut on the Baby Bug and reverse
4) Design Studio allows me to cut on the Expression even if the virtual mat is the 12x6 but not cut on the Baby Bug with the 12x12 virtual mat
5) Cut areas for each machine are still the same as before
6) Cartridges in the jukebox read on one machine will cut on the other machine as long as the file is not closed between cuts--I'm thinking I should technically be able to use 6 jukeboxes

I don't know whether you have any use for this, but I am absolutely thrilled with this ability. You can connect up to 5 devices to the hub, so you may find other uses for it as well.

I hope you and your families have a Happy and Blessed Easter Sunday,
Jill

Two Peas in a Pod

My second event yesterday was Ashley and James' wedding. OMG! It was absolutely beautiful; they were beautiful; the day was beautiful; everything was perfect!


This is Marlsgate Plantation. The ceremony took place on the front porch with us sitting in the chairs along the walkway. The musicians were in the balcony above the porch. This picture is a bit washed out because the sun was so bright when I first arrived.

You may remember from my Busy, Busy, Busy post last month that I was working on a project for Sherrye. Since the wedding has now taken place, I thought I would share with you.

Sherrye had been telling me about the wedding preparations as they went along, and one day she told me about the favors she had planned. As usually happens with me, one thing lead to another and I offered to cut 100 pea pods for her to put together and make a card for the favors.


Ashley had written on their blog about the two of them being like Two Peas in a Pod.... Sherrye took that and had it on the table along with the favors. The back of the card has an excerpt from it. What were the favors, you ask. These little salt and pepper shakers! Aren't they precious? Although I don't actually collect s&p shakers, I do like them and have an assortment, so this was right up my alley.



I also have to share this little story. Remember that I had gone to Nicki's baby shower prior to the wedding? As I'm sitting there visiting with two of my aunts and just told them that I have to leave early because of a wedding, another lady across the room says that she has to leave early. I said, "Me, too." She said, "I have a wedding to go to." I said, "Me, too." She said, "In Scott." I said, "Me, too." Yes, total strangers together at one event going to the same second event. She use to work with Ashley's mother and I "work" with James' mother and use to work with him. It's a small, small world!

I doubt that anyone is going to need 100 pea pods, but I'll share my files with you just in case. There are two different files because I originally did not plan to cut the lining of the pod. Also, it's set up on the Expression for cutting on 8 1/2 by 11 paper.


This is the sun setting on the lake across the road from the plantation as I was leaving the reception.


Pea Pods

Pea Pod Liners


Jill

Ladybug, Ladybug

Yes, more tags. I think I'm addicted. lol

Yesterday was a busy day for me. First was a baby shower for the daughter of one of my cousins. Nicki is having a girl and doing the nursery in ladybugs. I found several gift items with ladybugs and also made her a set of luggage tags. I think they're my favorite. Nicki loved them and even knew their purpose. ha


The tag on the left was made with Doodlecharms and the other two were with Walk in My Garden. I used Calligraphy Collection for the name.


And it seems that I am getting better about making cards instead of buying all of them. After all, I definitely have enough supplies! And what better design for Nicki's card than a ladybug? What fun things we're able to create with Design Studio!

The ladybug on Doodlecharm is my favorite, so I selected it for the card. I added google eyes and stickled the spots with Black Diamond.


Too cute if I say so myself! I had a vellum piece with the What are little girls made of? nursery rhyme and added a couple of punched flowers to dress it up a bit.


Then I was able to find an envelope that fit perfectly on Wild Card. Added a larger punched flower to it, and I was done.


It's all compatible for all machines. You might want to double check the envelope before cutting it on the baby bug as I cut mine on my Expression and it looks like a close fit for the baby.


Ladybug Luggage Tags

Ladybug Card


Have fun,
Jill

More Luggage Tags - Pooh

No, I didn't get Aidan's luggage tags made before I saw Kay. But I gave her Maddy's with a promise that Aidan's were coming. And I did get them made and to her last weekend, so he wasn't without for long.












I only made one set of these, so I did the file different than the ones for Sesame Street. Everything can be done in one cut, and I provided a page to show you how to arrange the paper on the mat. It should cut fine on either size mat. Again, nothing special, just size that fits.

Pooh Luggage Tags

More coming up.

Jill

With This Ring

Where does the time go? I had a great time cropping last weekend with friends and spending some time at Angie's cabin (so peaceful

up there) and even saw a few SMALL snowflakes. (Yes, I know some of you are SO tired of snow, but we really didn't have any this year. Did we last year?) I still have those RFTC name tags to cut out, but I wanted to stop long enough to send you this file. I actually did this back in November at Ferncliff and completely forgot about it until Angie was working on her daughter's wedding album this weekend.

















This is from the album I am working on of my son's wedding. Maybe I'll get it finished by their 10th anniversary (2014), but let's not make any bets on it. This was very simple using Opposites Attract and Wedding but turns out so pretty. Angie did hers in black, white and silver and stickled the word RING and the diamond.

Since cutting this one last fall and Angie working on it last weekend, I made some revisions for you. My original file did not have a shadow for RING. Chances are that I thought there was no shadow for the Opposite feature. Well, think again. Sooooo, RING is now shadowed in the base.

If I did this again, I think I would either pop-dot the word RING or shadow it again (between the ring shape and the word). Yes, I added a page for that in case you would like to do so. Or another color in the mixture would bring it out more too.

There are extra pages in the file for the sake of a pretty preview. Just cut the pages that say Cut. Anything to be cut is placed where it will work on 12x6 or 12x12.

I think I'm in wedding mode with Ashley and James and Claire and Chris' weddings coming up. Be watching for more wedding cuts coming up and who knows what might pop up in the meantime.

With This Ring

Happy Spring,
Jill