6/30/10

I'm sorry!

Please excuse all the changes you see to the blog every time you come back. I'm trying to find something that is a fit for me and I just can't figure it out. I know I wanted the blue awareness ribbon in the title in honor of my sister in law Deb Bowden who is one of the very rare Cervical Cancer Survivors and is still fighting the fight.

I am new to blogging and I'm trying to figure out graphics and titles, banners and logo's and buttons and .... it's so overwhelming - if someone wants to give me a hand I sure would appreciate it!

hugs,
Tangee

Paper Doll Dress Up Cartridge Challenge

I'm not really digging this project. It looks... cheesy.  I didn't have green chalk so I just brightened the edges with marker.  This is just a plain pencil box you can get at craft stores for a dollar or so.  My girls are 18 and 20 now so I don't have a little one to give it to.

Next up - Treat Bag from Mini Monsters
Book Cover Card from Locker Talk
Dog Gone Good Card from Just Because

Operation Organization!

I've had quite a few requests asking how I store stuff so I thought I'd share a few tips with you. I'll be back on the cartridge challenge in the next few days.
Sticker/Embellishment File

This is a crate filing thingy from Walmart - 5 bucks maybe? I have 3 paper pads in the back and a cardboard backing 12x12 on the top of the files.  I keep that there to keep dust and cat hair away from my embellishments.










 As you can see I have hanging files and then folders with categories.  Pets, Seasons, Holidays, etc.  I just came up with this system yesterday. Before that all my stuff was thrown in drawers labeled 'embellishments' and I got tired of rooting thru them for what I wanted. Now I can find them WOOT!





Lil Clippy Thingies
Look at those cute lil clips (click photo to enlarge)  I put 2 on  my paper stand for scissors and foam squares.  On the side I put one to hold older mats I need to recondition.  The 2nd photo shows 2 more clips for scissors and a ruler.  These are 3M and I found them in the picture hanging section at Target.  They have foam tape on the back that sticks to the wall and won't damage it (so it says)  6 of these hooks were 4 bucks and some change.
Which brings me to Ribbon - I need a new system people.  Look in the picture above and see 4 stacks of ribbons but that's not all I also  have 2 12x12 drawers full and my hanging rod is FULL.  What is my obsession with ribbon now?  If you have a suggestion I'd love to hear it.

Wanna see my favorite new organization thingy?  This is a photo album from Target, 6.99.  I bought it thinking that I could put my cuttlebug folders in it but the sleeves were too small for the A2 folders. So I did this instead...


But I think I may have too many - cause here is what it looks like closed:


How do you organize your scraps?  I bought a 12x12 accordion file and it's getting mighty full! I have it separated by colors.






 I love the 12x12 drawers at Target - I have had 2 sets (under my desk) for YEARS and yesterday I bought 3 more sets. I would have bought more but they didn't have any more.  But looky looky!


And finally - my storage 'system' for cuttlebug embossing folders.  What do you do with yours?

There you have it - would love to know what you do. Please send your links or photos.

Hugs!

6/25/10

Paper Pups

This card is SO cute! altho I was challenged with using chalk. I did have chalk, and I tried, but it looks like a dirty dog instead of a spotted dog :(  I wasn't about to try to glue the tiny eyes on so that's a brown sharpy.  Also the only blue ribbon I had was sheer - not solid.

Next up:

Paper Doll Dress UP
Mini Monsters
Locker Talk

Paisley Cartridge Project

This is too cute but was a little confusing. First the directions tell you to cut a 4" giraffe.  Did that and it was almost taller than the card so I scaled down to 3"  The layering is not obvious so you have to squint at their tiny picture to figure out what goes where.  Buty the end result was a super cute birthday card. Altho my bows/ribbons look injured and I didn't have wide brown ribbon I think it all worked out ok - what about you?

Next 3 carts

Next up Paper Pups
Paper Doll Dress Up
Mini Monsters

Wall Decor Cartridge

Here ya go - Wall Decor Challenge. I did not have a big red bow or black gems so I improvised. What do you think?

More to come after dinner tonite :)

Next 3 Cartridges

Paisley
Paper Pups
Paper Doll Dress up

6/24/10

The Pasquale Project finalized!

So I got LOTS done today - I went to AC Moore and picked up a few things I needed to do the projects in the cartridge booklets. I needed a box for a Princess box and a wooden plaque for a Christmas wreath.  I also had to pick up various ribbon and such - I'll be posting those projects tomorrow.

For your viewing pleasure is the final pieces of Scottys Stuff.



There in the back is his lil tub - I put "Scotty's Stuff" on it with blue vinyl, on the sides are the words Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse and on the back is a big ole Mickey head. Inside the tub is a ziplock bag with magnetic letters, a box of candy, Toy Story 3 for the Wii and a Baltimore Orioles Pez Dispenser.  In front are all the characters with magnets on the back. Cute huh?







Here are Mickey, Minnie and their Jalopy.  I did the tires and jump seat using shiny black card stock - VERY cute!

The lil guy is coming tomorrow for a visit and I'll try to get pics of his reaction.

Make sure you come back tomorrow to see the cartridge projects!

Today is the day people!

Here are 11 cartridges I'm going to do the projects on today and tomorrow.  Going backward alphabetically are Wall Decor, Paisley, Paper Pups, Paper Doll Dress up, Mini Monsters, Locker Talk, Just Because Cards, Joys of the Season, From my Kitchen, Freshly Picked and Fabulous Finds.

After I'm thru the full cartridges I'll start on my Font Cartridges, my License Carts and my Classroom carts. Then I'll figure out something to do with all the lil ones that don't come with projects.
LET THE FUN BEGIN!

6/23/10

Provo Craft teases us!

Oh jeeze, Provo Craft is coming out with something new and amazing. I don't even know what it is and I want it!  I'm sure you all got the email announcing that they are having a contest.  All you have to do is send them an email telling them in 250 words or less why you deserve it before anyone else. Of course I already sent mine WOO HOOO!  Course I never win anything, lol it's a curse.  But it sure is fun trying and I can not wait to see what they have in store for us!

Good luck everyone!

Click HERE to learn more.

6/22/10

The Saga of A Childs Life Cartridge Continues

So now my status is that the package is lost in NJ somewhere.  Once it finally arrives I'm not gonna wanna use it for fear it's cursed LOL!

Stay tuned as I'm working on cartridge projects today and will upload photos later.

6/20/10

The Pasquale Project

So mom calls her youngest grandchild Pasquale.  We don't know why. I think it's Indian and he is not LOL.  He turns 5 in a few weeks and my sister and her husband are taking him to Walt Disney World. It's a LONG drive so I'm making him Characters with magnets on the back to play with on a big magnetic board.  So far I got him a bunch of Alphabet letters from the dollar store - much cheaper and faster than making them.  I made the following boy/girl sets you'll see below and I plan on a few Elmo, Mickey, Pooh and Mini Monsters and put them in zip lock bags and then into a carry case with his name on it (using vinyl) He also gets my Toy Story 3 for the Wii that I got to keep yesterday after demo'ing it at Best Buy WOOT!  Scotty is the baby of the family, the next grandchild is 18!

Here are the Cowboy and Cowgirl - they turned out quite cute.  I like the googly eyes do you?




Meet the Pirates - how adorable are they?











Pebbles and Bam Bam LOL - I should have made the boy's hair yellow.












Super Boy and Super Girl to the rescue!

Coming Soon!

Sorry gang, it was a busy weekend and I worked both days so not much blogging time. I'll be back on track tomorrow with Cartridge Projects so please check back.

When I reach 100 followers I will have my very first Kricut Kontest  :)

hugs!

6/19/10

Cartridges for 10 to 20 bucks????!!!!!!!!!!

Joy is reporting sightings of cartridges at Michaels, Joann and Walmart for as low as 10 bucks!  These are older cartridges (who cares if they are older, gimme gimme gimme!)

Check out joyslife.com for more info and please let me know any deals you got.

6/18/10

The Saga of A Childs Life Cartridge

I decided this might be a fun cartridge so on June 1 I took advantage of the 50% off sale at Cricut Machine and ordered it.  On the 4th I got an email telling me that it was being shipped. YAAAY!  Then on the 9th I check online and the package has not even been picked up!  So I email asking them about it and they give me a song and dance about holidays and busy and blah blah. Ok, that's not my issue, I'm not concerned with your workload - I'm trying to buy a product from you.  So they send it out that day and I'm happy cause it's on the way.  Then a few days later I get an exception notice. Seems my package is stuck due to a Train Derailment. Yep that's what it says.  And now a full 18 days after ordering it - it's stuck in New Jersey and I have no idea why!  Am I not supposed to have this cartridge for some reason?

Tracking info for your viewing pleasure.

SECAUCUS, NJ, US 06/15/2010 11:52 A.M. ARRIVAL SCAN
COMMERCE CITY, CO, US 06/11/2010 9:30 A.M. TRAIN DERAILMENT

06/11/2010 9:30 A.M. TRAIN DERAILMENT

06/11/2010 9:30 A.M. TRAIN DERAILMENT

06/11/2010 8:30 A.M. ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS
SALT LAKE CITY, UT, US 06/10/2010 2:30 A.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
SALT LAKE CITY, UT, US 06/09/2010 11:49 P.M. ARRIVAL SCAN
OREM, UT, US 06/09/2010 9:53 P.M. DEPARTURE SCAN

06/09/2010 7:30 P.M. ORIGIN SCAN

06/09/2010 7:23 P.M. PICKUP SCAN
US 06/04/2010 11:18 A.M. BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED

6/17/10

Crafty Finds at Joann's,Ollies and a few LSS

While looking around Joanns today I found a magazine called Paper Craft Inspirations.  I'm not sure if it's related to our Paper Crafts magazine here in the US but I can tell you that it was quite nifty!  Excellent ideas and it game with a free gift which was a little booklet of Decoupage projects.  I tried one - see photo - blah.  The magazine itself is pretty awesome and has inspired me to play with cards more than I do.  I'm in for a very busy few days (Cleaning back of basement, demoing Toy Story 3 at Best Buy on Saturday and Demoing YuDu at Michaels on Sunday)  Not much play time the next few days :(

 This was another UK magazine I found called Cardmaking and Papercraft.  It came with those free rubber stamps you see on the left.  I'm not a fan of Rubber Stamping, probably because I never really took the time to learn how to do it properly.  Altho I have a few stamps and I have some fun inks, I can't figure out how to get the different colors, etc.  So I never paid it much attention.  There are some beautiful cards in this magazine and tons of ideas focusing on Summer.  Both of these magazines had a lot of stamping in them, but I figure I can do something on my Cricut to replace the stamp or just print out a graphic.  We'll see.

 I love Big Lots and Ollies. It's always hit or miss but when you get lucky you can pick up some really cool fun stuff for very affordable prices.  Here are 3 random kits I picked up that were 1.29 each.  They are stamps that have adhesive on both sides so you can glitter them or foil them or use flocking. Looks like a fun lil messy project to try out on a rainy day.

While running around we (my cricut buddy Kristen and her mom Karen who is my bestie and has been for oh....20 something years) went into a Joann's and wow they are having a massive sale!  Cricut Cartridges for 39.99 (too much for me, I'm a 20.00 ebay girl) but lots of die cutting supplies (including cricut) for 40% off and 12x12 paper 5 for a buck (I picked up 3 bucks worth) and I got a nifty pair of Fiskars tweezers for 2.99.   They also have mega paper packs for 40% off and a lot of deals on other stuff. Everything the 3 of us bought was on sale - even the magazines were 10% off :)

So there was my day - the crafty part today.  Kristen went to get her marriage license as she's gettin hitched in July (yaaay!) We visited the venue which is GORGEOUS where her wedding and reception are and we were supposed to figure out a cake situation cause the original one didn't pan out. But we never made it that far LOL. 

What did you do today? Tell me about a craft find or project you worked on. Would love to hear from you!
                                                                                                  Kristen            &      Karen

Oh, neat little website I found in one of the UK magazines is called Card Making with Crafts You Print.  Take a peek and see if it's something you like. I haven't looked around a lot but it looks impressive from what I did see.

hugs and such!

Sentamentals Cartridge

Ok let me tell you about this hideous Monstrosity!  I'm embarrassed to even show it but I took the challenge so I must.  That oval frame, the keys and the phrase all had to be printed 3 times then glued to each other in layers I guess to make it thick? I don't know what the hell they were thinking.  I used a Xyron to clue the back of those lacy things and the phrase and lemme tell ya what a pain in the patootie!  Little glue globs and just a mess.  I did it exactly per the instructions down to the white polka dotted pink ribbon.  Hated this project. I challenge those of you with this cart to do the sample project and send photos - I would love to see your creations!

Stretch your Imagination Cartridge

How adorable is this?  A lil 5x5 Christmas Card from the Stretch your Imagination Cartridge. Very cute indeed.  The snowflakes were a little bit of a pain.  One cut on it's own and the other 2  you had to do the card feature (little tag type thing) and then cut the snowflake out of there. They were so intricate that I just printed smaller sizes of the individual one.  Still turned out cute I thought.

Sweethearts Cartridge

This was another fun little project off the Sweethearts Cartridge. The photo isn't that great so I'll try to replace it later.  I don't have much to say about this one except I like it ;)

Tags Bags Boxes & More Cartridge

Look at this preciousness!  This was fun to make, except for the lil tags.  First off I chose the right feature and it was supposed to put a tiny hole in it but noooo it didn't. Could I find my tiny hole punch when I needed it? No I couldn't so I just glued those lil tags on the handle.  Also, finding rub on words that tiny to put on the tags was a pain.  I didn't have paper confetti and was too lazy to get the shredder out so I just used a piece of Maroon Mulberry paper.  I thought it turned out cute :)

Stand and Salute Cartridge

This is my favorite Project so far. From the Stand and Salute Cartridge comes a scrapbook page layout.  Everything worked beautifully except the ribbon. It came out MUCH larger than it should have been so I scaled it down.  Hubby is a former Marine, I'm going to put his dress photo in here.  Oh and the ribbon was supposed to be tinged with brown but I had no brown at the time. So I went out and got one of the ColorBox Petals (oh I love those!) from Michaels with a 40% off coupon.  I probably should fix that ribbon before putting his photo in it and then into a scrapbook huh?

Cuttlebug Cards

My sister in law was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer in February of last year. She had a 3% survival rate. We were all quite scared (obviously)  At her last Pet Scan they found ZERO trace of cancer.  She's been through 5 rounds of Chemo and has remained a trooper throughout it all.  She loves Birds and these cards are simple yet very cute (and sideways in this photo)  These were run thru the Cuttlebug by my friend Kristen who could not stop playing with it.  Just wanted to share, These were made for Deb to use as note cards. If anyone has any other ideas of something I can do for her with birds, please let me know.

6/16/10

A tour of my Craft "Studio"

This is where the magic happens people.  As you can see it's kinda small but I really dig the desk. My dad built it when I was 12 and it's really working out for me now!  I'll take you on a tour :)

 Ok so this is an old what's it called... hutch.  The thing in the center is a ribbon station I bought for a gazillion dollars then decided it wasn't going to work for me. So I'm waiting for one of my crafty friends to say "Dude I'll buy it from ya!"  hasn't happened yet.  The drawers are filled with adhesives, printer ink and such. I'm anal about organization - it's a curse.  Anyway the cabinets under are filled with various supplies like extra scrap pages, envelopes, this, that, the other thing.  Those 4 boxes are actually more proof I'm very organized.  Wii stuff in 2 of them, my craft projects in the other 2.  Slim jims of course cause they are well... yummy.  My fun scissor rack that came with el cheapo scissors and I replaced them with Fiskars trimmers - I think I have every pair since the early 90's.  Pens I'm not sure work anymore, a Sew Craft Machine I never used but got as a gift a millinium ago and just can't part with and other crap.  Then my beloved printer - wireless dontcha know.  Printer supplies under. That's an old microwave stand - sturdy too!  Moving on...


Ok on the left is an iris cart that I've had for a coons age full of stuff like eyelets, gems, brads, tags, punches, etc.  It's brimming with crafting fun.  Then you get a peek at the awesome desk my dad made many moons ago - needs painted.  Those 3 drawers are filled with stuff like a laminator, embossing gun, blah blah.  I look in there occasionally.   Hanging up is a fun lil scrapbook thingy for helping you figure out layouts. Quite handy and I've had it for YEARS, have no idea where it came from tho.  It has all kinds of sizes and you put them on your 12x12 paper the way you want it (journaling, photos, titles, etc)  Right above the drawers you see my Provo Craft Toys.l  Cuttlebug I swore I'd never buy, gypsy, a stack of Carts that I need to do challenges on, another stack of kid friendly carts for a project I'm doing for my 4yo nephew and my bin of vinyl.

Ohhh look at the cool thing at the top. A dowel supported by ribbons hanging from the drop ceiling. That dowel cost 59 cents and rocks!




Ok so the 3 drawer thingy I got at Big Lots for 14 bucks. It holds my cartridges.  I love my cart boxes and don't want to separate them and have smaller storage.  I know I'm weird. My expression is on top, my baby bug on the bottem (scored that puppy and 3 carts on ebay for 62 bucks)










This is my messiest section.  Various boxes along the top with adhesives, embossing stuff, scraps, lamination supplies, envies, etc. Also my Xyron, my drawer with quick needed supplies I use daily. A bunch of 8x11 paper I use mostly for layering. My beloved basket at the top (I have a photo of my grandmother holding that in the 30's while fishing - it rocks)!  Ooh look at my lil pink corner tool holder with the cricut bug (Thanks Michelle from Scrappin with my Bug! - she did the water bottle too and sells them for 10 bucks!)  Oh and those slider doors down there have LOTSA Stuff in it.  From a book binder to rubber stamps and more paper (did I mention I'm a paper whore?)  Also you'll see lots of sticky spray thingies, toweletts for cleaning and my husband's computer with a REALLY creepy picture of a little girl holding a doll and pointing to a cat. Her eyes follow you everywhere. I hate her.  She's like 100 years old or something (shudder)  Oh and I hang my 12x12 mats on the front of my slider door - neato huh?


And there is Grandma fishing and holding that very wicker fishing basket - how cool is that?  The basket doesn't smell like fish anymore ;) 










That's my fantabulous husband working on his facebook star trek game.  Isn't he wonderful?  Kiss Kiss honey!  Ladies - he NEVER complains about my addiction or my frequent trips to scrap and craft stores!  Ok see my table there? See under?  Everything I need is there. 2 bins full of stuff. CHOCOLATE on top of the bin on the left, a pull out tray with stuffs on the right, my paper keeper is full of scrap paper in color order (for those small cuts and layering stuffs) and 8 cartridges (4 cake and 4 new ones) that technically belong to Provo Craft but possession is 9/10ths the law right? RIGHT?  Ahem... moving on...

So this is my paper cart. I've had this thing forever and I love love LOVE it and wish I had 2 more.  All my solid card stock on the top and some specialty printed and page layouts on the bottom. That green box under the desk has a bunch of pattered paper.










Close up of my ribbon thingy - isn't it purty?

Ok this brings the tour to a close. I hope you enjoyed it and were not terribly bored.


Hugs and Such!

Wild Card Cartridge

This is the Wildcard and I loved making this card. As you can see it has a layer in the envelope or insert, or uhm...... thingy.  This is the first time I made an envy with the Cricut and I'm still a little worried that I'm not doing it right but time and practice will help me improve. Do you like the colors?

Winter Woodland Cartridge

This is the Winter Woodland Cartridge Sample. I followed the directions down to the glitter.  I did this a few days ago and STILL find glitter on the back of a nail, on an eyelash, my earlobe and various places thru out my Craft "Studio"  I used Spray Glitter in a can - gray, I don't know the name and I'm too lazy to slide the cabinet door open and get it.  Ok ok, I did.  It's Glitterama Floral Craft and Party Silver Spray.  It cost 3.24 at Walmart about oh 8-10 years ago and still works just fine.  This was a fun lil project and it's really cute.  The photo doesn't do it justice.  Altho the word Greetings was separated GREET INGS  I have no idea why but you can see my shaky lil hands did not do a good job lining it up.  I suck that way.  Shrug...

Walk in my Garden Cartridge

Ok so I was sitting around looking at all my fun stuff in my craft room - some of you are calling it a craft studio which is very professional sounding. By my photos you will notice that there isn't much professional about my stuff yet LOL But I'm learning. I've only been using the Cricut since April and I was lucky to land a job with Campaigners demoing ProvoCraft Products.  Dream job lemme tell ya and I turn all the money back into their products so it's a win win situation.  Oh yeah, my point was I was sitting around looking at my craft 'studio' and wondering what I could do next when I got the wonderful idea (hey it happens occasionally!) of doing the sample project from each cartridge that I own.  I'm doing them in Alpha Order Backward :)
So here is project One.  I picked up the Walk in My Garden Cartridge from Michaels last week for 19.99!  I can't tell you what papers I used because I am a paper addict and just buy it from everywhere - craft stores, department stores, dollar stores, mom and pop scrapbook places, trade with friends etc.
This was cute and fun - enjoy :)


Newbie Me!

I've decided to join the ranks of so many of my Cricut Sisters and do a blog.  Thanks to someone commenting on one of my projects and asking for my blog address earlier today LOL.

I have to spend some time getting to know blogger - I don't like the layout or template at all and years ago I had several of my own websites so I'm sure I'll figure it out.

My plans right off the bat are to document my Cartridge Challenge. I'm making the projects that are in the binders for every single cartridge I own.  I will be following Provo Craft's instructions to the letter when ever possible and post the results and comments as well as photos of the finished project.

Hope you come back soon!

Hugs - Tangee

Backpack and T-shirt’s

Back when Ragan was starting preschool, she wanted a Hello Kitty Backpack. The only one I could find was way out of our price range. So, I m...