Cuttlebug and Memory Box

It's amazing what you can design with enough chocolate in the house! My husband gave me my annual big See's heart box of chocolate last night for Valentine's Day. He saves the box and every year goes into See's and has all my favorite truffles packed in the box.. This year he added a few of his favorites since three pounds is a lot for just me. I worked with the new Cuttlebug embossing folders and some of the new releases from Memory Box. The embossing folders are so easy to use and makes a really quick card. I really like the alter art look (top right corner card) which is more my personal style. I was running around outside this morning looking for little branches for my card. I have a post-it note on our weed pile, not to throw it out until I've pull out want I need. My husband does even ask anymore what I doing with it. :)

Kimono Class

After a heavy dose of chocolate, I made up these kimono cards from my new AccuCut die cut. I had the die made so I could do a class that had an Asian theme but not require a lot of folding or time. All the cards are quick, if you have the die cut. I was going to do a Iris folding card but Anne does such a great job in her classes, I decided to leave it out. The cards on the right are my lazy man's style of iris folding - really it's just one sheet of washi paper. It's hard to tell in the photo that the washi paper is under the cardstock. I've updated my class schedule for the times and place for these cards.

Stampin Up Orphans

I've decided to start a Stampin' Up Orphans support group. A Stampin' Up Orphan is someone who is a active demonstrator who doesn't have a supportive upline in their area. Many times the person we signed up with has moved(like hours away) or stop being a active demostrator. It's really hard to attend meetings when you have drive to different parts of the state. Stampin' Up won't let you join another group that is in your area unless you stop for a year and then you have to go through the whole sign up process again. For many of us orphans, we just like to get together to stamp, swap cards and learn new stuff. So I'm putting a call out to all those SUO who would like to get together in the San Jose area. It will be an informal gathering and the only requirement is that you be an active Stampin' Up dealer with current I.D. number. Doesn't matter if you only buy for yourself and never hold a party. We won't talk business since that's the job of your upline. We will just do all the fun stuff and the card swaps don't even have to use SU stamps. Email me if your interested and check my blog for updates.

First Flower of 2008

I always look forward to the end of our California winters because then all my daffodils, tulips and irises start to bloom. My front yard changes with the seasons - yes, even here in sunny California. Something is alway coming into bloom. In a few weeks it will change from bright yellow (daffodils) to dark purple (irises) to hot pink and white (tulips) then to dark green. Now that we have a bee hive of our very own, I will be planting lavender beds and borders in both the front and back yard.

Cuttlebug & Brass Stencils

I did a demo at the store yesterday and a few people asked if you could use a brass stencil with the Cuttlebug. I really didn't know but a few other customers said yes you could and went on to explain to me how it's done. So, when I got home I did a internet search to get the facts. What I found was a lot of long winded"you tube" videos but none of them really got down to, go buy this and do this. So this is my short verison of what I did at home and hopefully it will work for you.

1) Go to the hardware store and search the plumbing section for something called "Gasket Rubber - repair parts." The one I found is from a company called 'Danco'. There are two sheets in a pack 6x6x1/16. Most men at the hardware store will have no idea what you are talking about. The product is for plumbers to make custom gaskets for hard to fit areas.
2) Use the A, B & C plates in the Cuttlebug.
3) Layer in this order A - B - Rubber -Paper-Stencil-C. If anything has a curl to it (the stencil and plates) put the curl side up.
4) It will be REALLY HARD to turn the handle so go slowly.

Help hints and Warnings:

If you do this, your brass stencil will have a curl to it. If you like to use the paste technique with your stencils then don't run it through your Cuttlebug. It will never lay flat again. You have been warned.

I have no idea if in the long run it will damage your bug. So far my machine is working fine.

The rubber from the package will fit in the Cuttlebug but I found if I trimed one side down a little I didn't have to worry about getting it in the center.

Trim the paper down to as small as you can. The bigger the paper the more chance it will start to wrinkle.

I also found that if there is any printing on the stencil (company name or code) it will also emboss so make sure that is turn away from the paper side

Creative Muse

Lucy decided to come in and help design my latest CJ project. I wasn't sure what color to use - the theme is "inspire me with color". Of course Lucy, my creative muse knew exactly what color (or lack of color) to use - Black and White. How could I have not known that?

Anniversary

It's our anniversary today and my husband had these beautiful flowers delivered to the house. It's been a long time since I got roses from him. I think the last time was 29 years ago:)

Creative Block

I was having creative block last night and there was no chocolate in the house! I decided to make backgrounds using Twinkling H2O water colors. I randomly paint color on whole sheets of both white cardstock and watercolor paper. This morning I cut everything up and made them into cards. I'm not into sweet sentiments, but I had to make some Valentine's day cards for my card rack. This is my version of heart day and there still is no chocolate in the house!

Cat Cards

Been on a roll with cat images this week. Made some quick cat cards last night as I was trying to avoid doing more pressing things aroung the house. With all the cold and wet weather all the fur babies are inside and fighting over the best spots to nap.
Cat and Butterfly stamps are from Hero Arts and HB stamp is from A Muse. I used Black India Ink (my #1 favorite) and color pencils. I've found the Lyra Polycolor pencils to be best. The color goes on really smooth which makes it easier to work with.

Miss Lucy = Attitude

I was working in my studio and when I turned around Lucy had just woken up - again. I told her to hold that pose and she did until I got my camera out and took a few pictures. I thought it was too funny that she didn't move the whole time. :)

More Quick Cards

Another night of making some quick cards using my overflowing stacks of Stampin Up paper. This time everything on the card is from Stampin Up - this may be a first for me. :) The flower punch matches the stamp for the "Ginormous Flowers" set.

Quick Cards

This is new paper from Flair Designs "What's Cooking Collention" that Cranberry Hill got in a few weeks ago. It's been a long time since I made a card that didn't use a rubber stamp. The paper works really well in making mini collages on cards.