Fit for a tween! (and an envelope freebie!)

My mom was complaining the other day that she can never find the card she wants with the right sentiment and she asked if I could come up with a set of versatile cards with different sayings that could be added. Being the obliging daughter I am I said “sure!” Well I’m sure this isn’t what she had in mind but I was itching to use the new dollar stamps my Imaginessance I got at Judy’s the other day so I came up with this…I’ll work on something a little more sophisticated for mom LOL!

I used my homemade dew drops for inexpensive embellishing! I colored the frog with Watercolor Crayons and a blender pen but you can get the same effect with chalk.

There are 8 blank cards in the set with envelopes made from pattern paper. It’s a great way to use up the extras that come in pads. I but most of my paper this way because it is only pennies a sheet that way, the paper I used here is by My Minds Eye, Everyday Tango Collection.

You can download the envelope templates here:

Expression users (with Design Studio and the George cartridge) click here for a file that cut 2 envelops on a 12″ paper.

Cricut users with the original 6×12 machine, design studio and george click here for a single envelope that will cut on a 6″x12″ paper.

For a SVG file compatible with SCAL and re-sizable to any size you want click here.

Assemble the envelops then use my envelope glue recipe to seal them.

I covered some plain pencils with pattern paper to match. You could even stick fake flowers or feathers to the top to make it extra fancy! The box I am using was rescued from the trash pile, it contained a paint your own piggy bank by the Melissa & Doug toy company. Such a cute sturdy box, and pink too, how could I toss it. I added some crackle medium and acrylic paint and die cuts and viola! A stationary box!

And I made a little notebook to match by cutting a large tag out of two scraps of mat-board and cut pages out of a sheet of cardstock. I joined them with a screw-post then decorated it.

I think this design has a lot of possibilities. You could save yourself some work and increase the recipient’s fun buy giving blank cards, the stamp, ink and, ribbon and colored pencils and let her design them.

Have fun and make some cards with a tween today!

Thanks a Latte!

I appreciate all of your get well wishes and I am happy to say that I am back to normal (I wish I could say the same for the house!) I took a break from the never-ending pile of laundry and household disinfecting to craft and share this little card. It combines 3 of my favorite things (excepting my family of course) Stamps, Coffee and my Cricut!

Card by Lindsay Weirich 2009

Inside of card

I drew the card in inkscape so that I could cut it with my Cricut using SCAL software. I ran the band through a paper crimper to make it look more realistic and then stamped a little coffee mug from Inque Boutique on a punched circle.

For the SVG file click here.

For a printable template click here.

A note about blade depth and cutting pressure: Many cricut users I have come across keep their blade depth at 6 and their cutting pressure at max. Please don’t do this. You will wear out your mats and blades much sooner than you need to and I suspect that eventually it will wear out your cricut. Only use the blade depth and pressure that you need. For the most part I keep my blade dept set at 3 and I vary the pressure I need to cut with. For instance when I cut vinyl I use pressure 2, pattern paper I use pressure 3 and on Stampin Up! cardstock I use pressure 5 (or MAX). My first cricut, the personal 6″x12″ model that I have used frequently for 2 years I used this way and recently it seems as though I need to have my blade depth at 4 now, 3 doesn’t quite do the job anymore. So if you are using your machine at 6 and max pressure I fear that eventually It will not be able to cut through the thinnest of materials. If your pressure is to high and blade too deep you are just cutting into the mat anyway so give you poor cricut a break and only use the depth and pressure you need to keep that bug chirping for years to come!

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

I spoke too soon…

Well, my superior vegan immune system didn’t completely protect me from the stomach bug the rest of the family got but at least I’m making a swift recovery! My friend, and fabulous photographer Tracy, tagged me yesterday (And since I didn’t get a chance to finish the craft I was going to share today due to an ill household) I figured today would be a good day to play along. So, to play tou go into the folder on your computer where you store your photos, go to the 6th folder and pick the 6th photo in there, here’s mine:

the 6th photo in my 6th folder on my hard drive

That is several sheets of polymer clay from a project I did a couple years ago. I was commissioned to make polymer clay leaves to go on a wedding cake. OK for everyone who is having heart palpation’s because I was using polymer clay near food calm down. The clay is non toxic AFTER cured. That’s why they say to use baking sheets that are clay dedicated on raw clay but after it is cured it should be as safe as any other plastic…bad point huh.

Polymer clay leaves by Lindsay Weirich

Since I have no new craft today  I thought I woulds share the leave with you. First condition the clay (knead it in your hands or in a pasta machine until soft) then roll it out 1/8" thick. Press a real leaf into the clay and cut out with an x-axto knife. Pinch around the edges with the leaf still attached to make it look like a delicate thin leaf and trim again with the knife. Remove the leaf and bake at 275 for about 10 minutes *Correction, these are very thin and will burn easily so bake them for about half the time the package says 8-10 minutes for Sculpey3, or 15 minutes for Premo at a slightly lower temperture on a bed of cornstarch (see comments) with a dusting of cornstarch on top.

So, want to play along? Post the 6th picture from the 6th folder on your blog and leave me a link so we can check it out!. To see Tracy’s beautiful photo click here.

Have fun and happy crafting!

My New Shelf!

Check this out:

Holy cow, check out this shelf!

My good fried Kathy called me 2 weekends ago from a lady’s basement who was selling her entire stamp collection. I’m thinking “I need more stamps like I need a hole in the head!” and I decided I didn’t “need” to go but she said she was selling her stamp shelves for 5 bucks. So I decided I would swing by on my way to my parents house to see if she had anything left and check out her shelves. Holy coy this woman was stocked with awesome stamps! I grabbed these House Mouse, Stampscapes and Magenta stamps for 1-3 dollars each! And yes I got the shelf.

Some new to me stamps!

I thought about getting two shelves but decided that might be too much of a strain on my marriage 😉

If you want a shelf like this it is made from 1×4 pine. It is 6′ high by 4′ wide. Hubby secured the shelf to a beam in the celling since it is tall and narrow, otherwise it would probably tip over. The shelves are 4″-6″ apart, perfect for storing stamps! I had so many that I put them in on the diagonal, I put up my favorites, the rest I gifted to my kids who will use and appreciate them more than I did!

Speaking of the kids, 2 out of 3 are sick, hubby too, hence no crafty project today. I have a few things in the works though and as long as I don’t get what they have I have a new craft up tomorrow. Yay for my superior vegan immune system…I’m totally jinxing myself now…Until next time stay healthy and happy crafting!

Happy Monday Freebie Time!

I hope you had a great weekend. It’s been a few days since I’ve given away a free file so here is a cut little heart Carton that you can cut with your Cricut if You have Design Studio or Sure Cuts a Lot. The original template was designed by Kate Pullen from the About.com stamping forum. You can see her design as well as get a printable version and folding instructions here. With her permission I have made the file available for Cricut users (thanks Kate!) See download links below.

Heart Carton Treat Boxes

Front of large box

The sides of the box are flat like a sour cream packet.

This one is my favorite!

A bow secures it from the top so it can be opened and closed without damage.

Wouldn't these make lovely wedding favors?

download links:

A .cut file to be used with Design Studio and the George Cartridge.

An SVG version to use with SCAL software.

All the stamps I used in this are from The Rubber Cafe. I used Mystique glitter embossing powder by Judikins on the hearts after stamping them with a purple rainbow pigment ink pad (versacolor) although the shine looks way better IRL! I made the dark plum boxes with the Design studio (this will work with the original cricut too and the free trial of design studio) and the lavender ones with SCAL. The nice thing about scal is that it is easy to re-size the boxes, with DS you have to re-size every little shape (unless there is some group re-size feature I don’t know about in which case please fill me in!)

Have fun with this, they are very easy to make, perfect for school valentines!

Exciting News!!! I have been invited to join the Creative Cuts and More Design Team on a permanent basis!!! I am so excited, I love their die cuts, I’ll be sharing many projects I’ve made with them in February so stay tuned.

Thanks for stopping by and until next time happy crafting!

Big Thanks!

Wow, what a week! I found out that at least one of my cards will be featured in the February issue of Vamp Stamp News, not sure which one (or ones) and they put one of my cards on the VSN homepage! And I got several projects accepted into Just Cards! magazine. Special thanks go out to my friend Kathy who generously gave me permission submit a card I made with her onesie pattern, and also I want to thank Jen of Jen’s Brain Things blog for letting me use one of her cut files on another accepted project. You girls rock!

And I thought I would share a few thank you cards with you today:

card by Lindsay Weirich 2008

Stamps: Inque Boutique, Paper: The paper Co.

Tri-Fold Card by Lindsay Weirich

Also I want to thank Olena and Heather for blog awards, you are so sweet!

Have a great weekend and happy crafting!

Make a diaper cake!

Do you know a mom to be? How about making her one of these:

My first diaper cake...I'm so proud of myself!

And these:

I made this card with Kathy's template, see link below.

You can download the printable template or one to cut with SCAL from this post. Thanks again to my friend Kathy for letting me share her template!

To make a diaper cake you will need a package of diapers, 50 or so, usually marked Jumbo. If you are making this for a mom to be use a pack of size 1 diapers, I used a pack of size two because this was for my friend Kristin who had her baby 3 weeks ago! She is adorable BTW! You will also need narrow ribbon cut into 12″ lengths, wide ribbon, rubber bands, a short dowel or chopstick and baby items such as pacifiers, bottles and teething rings. An extra pair of hands are helpful to, my 4 year old twins helped my by rolling the diapers and holding them together as I tied them. Time needed: 1 hour.

Step 1. Roll up each diaper and tie with a narrow ribbon.

Step 2. Grab a bunch of diapers (6 or so) and join them by wrapping a rubber band around them. Add a layer of diaper rolls around that and tie with a wide ribbon (the extra hands come in handy here!) This is how you make the layers of your “cake” make 3 different sizes so they will stack.

Step 3. Place the large layer on a plate (I save the sturdy plastic trays that fruit platters come in for this but you can cut a circle out of cardboard and cover it with foil.) Then place the middle layer on that. Slide a dowel threw the two layers, then place the top layer on so the dowel is in the middle. This keeps it from falling apart. You could use tape but be careful not to use so much it ruins the diapers when it is pulled off!

Tie on the baby things with the loose ribbon poking out here and there from when you tied the diapers together. Done!

My girls had a ball making this and it is sure to come in handy for any new mother! Why not make one today.

Are you ready?

Yipee! Tonight is the season premier of Lost! There will be a recap on at 8 (ET) then a 2 hour premier! I am so excited, it’s the one show both my husband and I love. In fact I made this card for him on his birthday last year:

"Id be lost whithout you" card by Lindsay Weirich 2008

I used my cricut (opposites attract) to cut the word “lost” from vinyl and stuck it on some white glossy cardstock, then covered it in ink. Then I stamped with staz-on on a transparency cut the same size as the cardstock and adhered it with black acrylic paint. I used a DYMO label punch for the sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by, I’d love to craft tonight but the island wont let me! *that was a Lost reference for those of you who think I’ve lost my marbles 😉

Happy Inauguration day!

Today we get a new commander in chief in the States. Every time we change presidents we talk about how it is a history making day and how this point in history is more important than times before but today the reporters and pundits can say and mean these words. Regardless on who you voted for you have a new president who will try and make our country better.

card by Lindsay Weirich, Image: Vintageimagecraft.com

Here’s to a safe prosperous 4 years! If you want to grab the files to cut this card with the cricut using SCAL or Design Studio they are on this post. The vintage clip are is from vintage Image Craft and you can snag it for free here, it was used on their block project, which is also lovely, snag that and other great freebies here.

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!