Oh, my, it has been way too long since I've been able to craft or had anything to post here and it's good to be back, although I won't be posting regularly until my daughter's graduation is over. Such a busy time but I don't want to miss a single moment of this special time in her life!
That said, what little crafting I am currently doing is generally graduation themed but this project could work well for diy wedding or shower invitations as well. For a number of reasons, our family is having an informal gathering at our home the day of graduation and my daughter's reception a week later. Plans were going smoothly until I realized I was going to have to include some kind of explanation as the actual announcement doesn't mention a reception at all and there wasn't enough room on the formal invitation to explain... so I did what any Cricut loving paper crafter would do and I crafted an insert.
I wanted the insert to fit in the 4x6 inch envelopes that came with the announcements I was using. I started with 3x4 inch shipping or address labels and used my pc to type up my announcment and center it on each label. Then I used the CTMH Artiste cartridge for the Cricut and chose the image featured on the card function on the letter "k" (see p.58 of the booklet). I sized it to 4 inches height so that my 3x4 inch label fit the center area. I chose to use the "hide" feature of my Gypsy (the bottom right of the 6 function icons on the Advanced tab) to hide or omit the little diamond shape cutout toward the center of each side of the card, but that was just my personal preference to ensure the sticky back of the labels didn't stick anywhere/to anything it wasn't supposed to. So with the image sized and altered to my needs, I again used my Gypsy (or you could use the Cricut Craft Room) to repeat the image and arrange each one as closely as I could until I was able to fit 6 of these images on a page. Once graduation is over, I will play with the newly updated Cricut Craft Room which I'm told is now compatible with Gypsy files, and I will try to upload the cut file I created for this project.
One word of advice if you use plain cardstock and want to embellish it as I did (using
CTMH's "Love Life" set #1482), stamp each image after you've cut it and removed it from the cutting mat. I tried random stamping my CS prior to cutting and even though I thought I had waited long enough for the ink to be completely dry, some ink was still picked on the small runners that hold the paper down while it's being cut and it made smudgy lines on some of my cuts. While this was minor in this instance and I was still able to use all my pieces, it could be more of an issue depending on the project.
One of the things I loved about this project is that I was able to find a stamp image and choose colors that really complemented the image on the main announcement and I *LOVE* the new Champagne color, it's a warm neutral that complements almost any "pop" of color and it just lends an elegance to every project I've used it on so far.
Happy crafting to all and congrats to all the new graduates out there!
Annette
So not only is graduation over but I have also created a new craft space in my home so I'm itching to get crafting again, and what better project to get started with than a birthday card for the friend who introduced me to papercrafting? The current challenge at Chocolate, Cards & Coffee Challenge is to use numbers, and when I spotted a sketch on Freshly Made Sketches challenge this morning and it called for 2 shapes over a banner or vertical strip on one side, and I immediately pictured the numbers for this card. I took a little liberty with the challenge sketch in that it did not include the horizontal strip but I already had the elements of the card done when I realized it and I just couldn't get the balance I wanted without it. And since I was having so much fun playing in my new craft space I made a coordinating envelope.
That said, what little crafting I am currently doing is generally graduation themed but this project could work well for diy wedding or shower invitations as well. For a number of reasons, our family is having an informal gathering at our home the day of graduation and my daughter's reception a week later. Plans were going smoothly until I realized I was going to have to include some kind of explanation as the actual announcement doesn't mention a reception at all and there wasn't enough room on the formal invitation to explain... so I did what any Cricut loving paper crafter would do and I crafted an insert.
I was a little daunted when I saw this week's challenge at the Sketchy Friday Challenge as I haven't yet tried working with torn and ragged edged papers, but then I remembered I also haven't tried working with the burlap ribbon from CTMH and having crafted with fabrics longer than paper, I knew burlap would unravel and fray very easily. Plus, I love the Buzz and Bumble paper kit kit and couldn't wait any longer to play with it! So without further ado, here's what I came up.
All products are from CTMH. I started with some scraps I had from the Dakota paper kit and the Log Cabin pattern featured in "Originals" by Jeanette Lynton. I trimmed the pieces to size and then I used the Artiste cartridge to cut the center shape. I inked the edges and stamped the center image using Pacifica ink, being careful not to get any ink on the "YOU" at the bottom. I then cleaned my stamp and let it dry, and then I used Barn Red for the "YOU," again just inking the part I needed. Some of the versions I've seen of this card feature hinges or some other point of interest where the papers meet but I chose to use stars from the Typeset workshop on the go (retired) stamped in Whisper.
As usual, all products are from Close To My Heart. I used the retired Be Yourself stamp set which I first stamped in black and then in Ruby on a separate piece of CS, then I cut out the dress and shoe areas of the red stamped image and glued them on the black stamped image. This is stamp set I've had for awhile and hadn't used yet but I really like it, I especially like how it gives a sort of modern silhouette image when stamped like this. I also *love* CTMH's new Silver Shimmer Trim, it's so versatile! I wanted thin strips of silver to frame the image so I cut two strips of the shimmer tape, one the length of the card and one the height, and then I cut each strip up the middle and it was so easy to work with. I also added a red sparkle where each strip overlapped. The sentiment was also stamped in Ruby.
