Cricut Tuesdays with The McSmitty Girl

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

This week we will focus on 3 layouts from my 5 layouts - 4 day stint (remember last week's post?). I wanted to focus on the everyday of my son's life - his love for my camera, doing homework with his Ate Tejanna ('ate' means female cousin in Flipino) and for 'Cubis' the computer game played with his Papa.

The title for 'the camera guy' was created using the All Mixed Up cartridge. The two creative features I used was the usual script and its shadow, all cut at 1". Using all lower case letters puts a playful feel to the layout - perfect for my son's play with my camera. The camera embellishment was cut using the Going Places cartridge, cut at 1" at its normal shape image. That's it!

To assemble my page, I began with inking the edges in white. Next, I arranged my photos to tell a sequential story and added emphasis on 2 pictures. I then filled in the spaces in between the pictures with patterned paper. I added some other embellishments for added pop but done for balance as well. Lastly my journalling tag in the opposite 'corner' of the layout was placed to balance out the yellow I used in the title and die cut image.

The '4th grade Math' title was created using 2 cartridges - Cursive 101 from the Classmate Series and Locker Talk (a primarily school themed cartridge). Starting with Cursive 101, the word 'math' was cut at 2-1/4" using the usual image and shadow blackout creative features. This added not only emphasis to the word but also additional pop to make it stand out from the patterned paper background. '4th grade' was cut at 2-1/2" at the usual script as well as using the shadow feature. So easy eh?

Now here's how I assembled the page. First I trimmed my patterned paper 1/4" all round to adhere to the solid cardstock base. Again my pictures were placed in somewhat a sequential order to help tell my story. I matted the largest picture using the Prima Journalling Blocks - Boy. I then added my journalling spot and embellished to finish. Lastly I adhered part of my title with staples to give it a school like feel.

Now for my last layout, this is probably the most basic and simple layout I have ever done yet it tells my story. I only have one step to describe when using my Cricut. And here it is... The title 'CUBIS ANYONE?' was created using the Cricut Keystone cartridge with all letters cut out at 1". Done!

To assemble this page I first started with the patterned paper and my cardstock. Cubis is a game of squares so I was really lucky to have found this patterned paper. Lucky for me there was a coordinating backside so I used both and adhered them to the left side of my page.

My title was next to be placed and wanted it to feel it resembled the game. Therefore it was adhered to the page on its side in a north-south fashion. Lastly my pictures and quick journalling was done from small to large rectangles to help draw the eye down the page.

So although I do not have any technique tips this week... Get ready for next week's Cricut Tuesdays blog because there will be plenty. So stay tuned. Until then, Happy Crafting!

Sping has Sprung, Butterflies are Everywhere ~ Jackie's Creations

My heart fluttered when I opened this months yummy Design Team Kit from Posh Designs Scrapbook Store! Everything was perfectly coordinated just waiting for me to add my photos and imagination!

This first layout is of my daughter being her quirky self! As soon as I seen this photo I new I had to use it on a layout!

The pretty paper is from KaiserCraft - The Vagabond Line! These papers are so gorgeous be sure to get two of each sheet because they are double sided and it is hard to choose which side to use!

To start I distressed my photo, I then matted it on a torn piece of pink cardstock. I only adhered three sides of the photo, leaving one side open to use it as a pocket for a journaling card. I also added a few buttons. And the pretty title from Crate Paper's Mia Collection (Pillow Box Diecuts).

I then added a flower using a glue dot, and for the center I used a gorgeous Prima Bubble Embellishment. I just love butterflies, and these little bubbles from Prima are so gorgeous!

For the Subtitle I used fun rubons from Daisy D’s! And the gorgeous decorative bracket is from Cosmo Cricket - Girls Galore. I really love that brackets are a big trend right now! Also be sure to check out all the fabulous stickers available at Posh Designs Scrapbook Store!

All papers used for this second layout are also from the Kaiser Craft - Vagabond Line! After inking the edges of my base piece of paper I then cut an 3.5 x 6, a 5 x 8.5, and finally a 8.5 x 1.5 piece of patterned paper.

I then adhered them to my layout and added beautiful flourishes from Cosmo Cricket - Girls Galore. And some sweet ribbon from Pink Paislee - Sweet Cakes Line and the title from My Mind's Eye - Bohemia 2 Line.

The rubon underneath the title, and on the photo are from Daisy D’s as well. I used Rangers Liquid Pearls to paint the pretty butterfly from Scenic Route, and matted it to give it some depth.

And to add some sparkle I added some dots of bling! I hope my projects inspire you to use butterflies on your layouts! Be sure to come join the fun in the Interactive Community! Until next time Happy Scrapping!

Frugal Fridays - Button, button, who's got the button?

Where do you keep your stash? Are your scrap items neatly tucked away in storage containers and shelves? Are they in a pile next to your work space? or are they hidden in a box somewhere, mostly forgotten? Have you ever ended up purchasing an item, knowing that you do have it... somewhere, but it was just easier to buy another than look for your original?

Because of my limited space and budget I decided to make my own paper storage system, it was super simple. I headed down to a local warehouse store, you know those places where they sell everything in bulk and even offer supplies to restaurants. I picked up a pack of empty, blank pizza boxes. They were selling them in packs of 50 for under $20. After constructing them and cutting off the front of them and I taped them together in stacks of 5, made a stack of 20 high. I then made 3 stacks of 4 and put those vertically next to my stack of 20. I've organised my papers by colour and collection and have used the vertical boxes to hold my albums and monthly kits as well as my scraps and random papers that don't seem to fit anywhere else. For me it's a lifesafer, a great storage solution for very little money and only an evening of work!

This past christmas I was lucky enough to be given a great wall shelf from making memories that houses all my ribbons, brads and stamping supplies. I've purchased jars from the dollar store to hold my various embellishments and keep them in order. It's a work in progress but it makes it so much easier to scrap when I can see my supplies instead of hunting around trying to find them. As I was organising my section, I had found items I had completely forgotten I even had.

For those that might not have the time to put together their own organiser, you can always check out our organisers section, which has in stock items as well as some awesome pre-orders! There's even an item or two that's been marked down to save you some $$$ All it takes is a few simple storage units to get your stock in order.

Thursdays with KLDezign

Bonjour tout le monde!

Comment allez vous en cette super journée?

Aujourd'hui je suis fière de vous présenter mes 2 premières pages faites avec mon premier kit de DT.

Ouff que de stress... Je sais je m'en fais surement pour rien, mais bon j'avais peur de ne pas être à la hauteur. Donc ma première page est fait avec les superbes papiers KaiserCraft. Ils sont bien sur, déchirés et travaillé pour donner un petit look vieillot. Afin de donner un aspect usé à ma photo je l'ai encrée avec les encres distress de Tim Holtz. Ceci étant fait il ne me manquait qu'à donner une petite uniformité en ajoutant un Grungeboard et un chipboard encré dans la même couleur! Voila pour mon petit Damien à la mode Vintage!


Pour ma deuxième page je voulais mettre un peu de couture, non mais tant qu'à être en train de faire mes préparatifs pour le mariage en couture aussi bien en mettre un peu partout! Alors j'ai cousu mon papier sur ma page de fond après l'avoir encrée et déchirée. Ce sont mes méthodes fétiches je ne le cache pas, je le fais presque dans toute mes pages! Les chipboards sont de BoBunny, le papier KaiserCraft encore, cependant j'aimerais que vous jetiez un oeil aux superbes fleurs Fancy Prima qui sont dans le bas de la page! Je les adores! Elles sont superbes! Le mot DUO a été coupé avec ma chère Cricut adorée. J'ai ensuite ajouté quelques embelissements par ci par la comme un bout de ruban en loupe et quelques pierres décoratives KaiserCraft. Comme je suis aussi une fan des transparents j'en ai ajouté un pour faire une sorte de cadre sur la photo de mes 2 petits monstres. L'effet est très intéressant! Alors voila pour mes 2 premières pages!


À bientot!

Kim@KLDezign

Cricut Tuesdays with The McSmitty Girl

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

This week I had the intention to show you a project created from using plastic sheets. But over time and after a significant amount of attempts; my initial project did not come to fruition. Feeling frustrated I was thinking how I can salvage my creation. Then this is what occurred to me.

My initial project was to cut out the phrases 'inspire', 'create' and 'simplify' using the Cricut solution cartridges Home Decor and Home Accents. My finish product was to have a dimensional effect by layering a shadow creative feature over the usual cut image found on each of the respective cartridges. What happened???

Using my Cricut Expression machine, I chose a Fit to Length mode to cut each image out at 11". As a result, Cricut measured the cuts to be at 3-1/2" in height (and I just love how the Cricut Expression just calculates that for you).

Next I chose the Multi-cut setting to be on set that at 2. Because I had to no test material (aka. scrap); it was all or nothing.

Then I pressed 'cut' and watched in amazement my Cricut cutting through the material or so I thought. Attempt #1 didn't work. So I increased the pressure and depth even the multi-cut setting as well. Nothing. I still had more sheets to try with so I switched my regular housing blade to the deep cut blade assembly. I had to change up my settings again.

No luck at all. It was then midnight and I had nothing after 2 hours of work. Can you see my frustration here? Now I have all these images etched out (beautiful as they are) but no cut images in my hands.

All of sudden, it clicked! I have etched phrases I can use as signs (like a license plate) to hang in my scrap space. My walls are painted a darker hue therefore the etching shows up and it is not distracting.

In fact because I had made multiples of these signs, my friend adored them so she took one set and a family member took my other set (I made 3 sets while trying to figure things out). You can say I am lucky to have mine.

Very recently I challenged myself to create 5 layouts in 4 days! This is a crazy attempt on my part because it usually takes me one week to complete 1 layout (and a card 2-3 days dependent on how elaborate it is). But I did it and although I will not showcase all 5 layouts in this week's post; they will be shown over the next few weeks. So here are the first 2 I'd like to tell you about.

'the giggles' is a layout already posted in the Posh Designs' Gallery located in the Interactive Community Site. The layout was based on Posh Designs' Challenge #3 where the original sketch can be found at the above site. Faced with not crafting with many circular shapes; I'd jumped right in to do a layout about my Son's laugh.

Here are the instructions:

Using the George and Basic Shapes cartridge, I chose the circle image to cut at Fit to Page mode and centred that onto the cardstock base (which is from American Crafts Summer pack). Next using the Colozzule circle and nested oval cutting templates; I created my circular photos and mats. The title was created from the Cuttin' Up cartridge using the 'Holy Cow' creative feature. 'the giggles' was cut at 1-1/2" and the subtitles 'your smile' and 'that laugh' was cut at 1".

I stamped the word giggle for emphasis. For embellishments on this layout, I used Basic Grey buttons from various collections and layered some of them for interest. For the journalling mats, I used the Prima Journalling Notes - Boy. And if you can't tell... I actually stitched along the large circle shape using the Bazzill Paper Piercing Tool and Floss in Sunbeam. Lastly I added some other finishing touches to make this layout complete.

The 2nd layout is another Holiday layout but with a fun spin. This layout is about my son attending his first Ornament Exchange Party.

Here are the instructions:

First I trimmed all my patterned papers ready for placement and layering. Then I inked the edges of all those papers for added color but also emphasis before adhering them onto the cardstock base (from the American Crafts Winter pack) which the corners were cut using a paper punch.

Next the pictures were cut at the same shape size expect for the basket of goodies (aka. the ornaments) then aligned to tell my captions. I actually left my Cricut cutting until the end. Why you may ask? I actually wanted to make that my journalling, highlights and embellishments fit the space I was going to allot them in. That was for me using a different approach to my creative process. Once that was completed, the Cricut came out to play!

For the title I used the All Mixed Up cartridge setting the cuts to be at 1". For a playful feel, I used up various scrap pieces of cardstock for the word 'ornament' because ornaments can be so colorful while keeping the word 'exchange' in one color. This was created to avoid making the title washed out amongst all my other elements on the page. Next, I used the Tags, Bags, Boxes and More cartridge to create tags that my highlights would be written on.

The image I chose was the 'lgrnd4' using the window creative feature which was cut out at 1". This image was cut twice so that I could use the base for the writing and the frame was used to highlight the basket. The journalling mats and frame were adhered to the layout with various brads before adding a magnetic clip at the top.

*A quick tip when using this particular cartridge: If you choose the 'window' creative feature from any shape, try to see if you can use the base shape as part of your journalling or as an embellishment without having to make another cut. If not, save the piece for another project ~ you'll have an instant journalling spot ready to go! This will save you time and energy.

That's it! The Cricut has been so indispensable for me. Not just from the projects I've created but also in breadth of fonts available. Don't forget there are 3 more layouts to be featured in future Cricut Tuesdays blog posts. You will see the variety of fonts and combinations I've used. So stay tuned... Until next week, Happy Crafting!

Community Chat announcement

Hear ye! Hear ye!
This is to notify you of some wonderful news!
Starting this Thursday at 7pm,
there will be weekly chats over at the Posh Designs Community Site
We welcome one and all to join us.

The Posh Designs DT members will be on hand (maybe not all at once though)
to answer questions, listen to feedback
or to just hang out with a fun bunch of people.
Trust me, these ladies are cool!
You don't want to miss out.

So join us on Thursdays at 7pm
We're looking forward to seeing you there.

Britney Spears Concert in Montreal's Bell Center

Britney Spear's comeback she sold out her tickets in Montreal faster than anywhere else! Go Montreal, go!!! I'm not a major fan of BS but I give her props, she has struggled a lot and as weird as it sounds her new single Circus was that good that it made me want to go see her show lol!

The opening show featured the Pussy Cat Dolls, even Will Ferell was there! Unfortunately, I couldn't go... Grrr... Davian came out with a nasty fever so my B-Day gift ended up with my brother and his girlfriend... But she's coming back to perform here on May 5th, so no biggy! My brother took amazing pictures and videos of the whole she-bang! On the other hand I'm happy thou' that Davian is feeling much better today!

Here's are a couple of pictures for the BS fans:

And last but not least the pop Princess in all her Glory:

Sweet Mini Wall Hangings ~ Jackie's Creations

I love making presents for my family and friends! So I made these two little mini wall hangings for a few coworkers!

I started with plain 2 x 2 chipboard squares. I chose these gorgeous papers because they are so bright and cheerful! They are from Fancy Pants - Daydreams Collection! After adhering the paper I sanded the edges to give it a
smooth look.

I then decorated them using quotes and flowers, I also added ribbon and some chipboard elements for a fun look! To atache the bulky elements like buttons and chipboard I used a glue runner, check out this glue runner! Sometimes you need strong adhesive to get the job done, and a glue stick just won't do!

To put all the pieces together I used my Crop A Dile to punch holes along the edges and weaved ribbon through and left a loop at the top for hanging. I hope you have enjoyed my sweet mini wall hangings! Happy Scrapping!

Frugal Fridays - Have your cake and eat it too!

What could be sweeter than cake? Pink Paislee's Sweet Cakes line.
What could be sweeter than the Sweet Cakes line? it being on sale of course!

You'll find a tasty treat over in the clearance section, the papers being marked down by 50%!!! as well as the papers you'll find the Sweet Cakes postcards which are the most adorable journalling cards you'll ever get your hands on.

Add to these some ribbons and rub ons and you've got your page made! And all at a fraction of the regular retail cost! Now that's one way to save some dough.

Everything in the above layout is from the Pink Paislee Sweet Cakes line, except the buttons. The inspiration for the layout came from the Posh Designs sketch challenge over at the Posh Designs community site. It just goes to show that you can have your cake and eat it too!

Thursdays with KL Dezign Creations

Bonjour! Voici ma première chronique en tant que DT de Posh Designs Scrapbook Store. Je suis un peu nerveuse et j'espère que vous aimerez bien!

Cette semaine je vais vous parler de l'utilisation des transparents.

Acétate, Acrylique ou autre, ils font toujours un bel effet et je trouve que c'est mal connu. Alors parlons un peu de ce que l'on peut faire avec ces petites merveilles.

Cette semaine je me suis donné comme objectif de faire une page au fond transparent. C'est très tendance c'est certain, mais c'est aussi un très bon moyen lorsqu'on veut une page très épurée. J'ai donc poussée ma chance un peu en envoyant ma planche d'acrylique se faire couper par ma cricut pour lui donner un petit look travaillé. Ensuite j'ai placé mes ornements, photos et autres telle qu'à l'habitude et pour donner une petite touche de fraicheur j'ai ajouté du stickles au contour de ma page. Je vous montre la page en question, il ne faut pas trop m'en vouloir pour la qualité de la photo, photographier du transparent, sans flash, le soir... C'est hardu! Le fait que ça soit un fond complétement transparent donne un effet à ma page d'hiver et de glace. Alors c'était parfait pour ma poule qui joue au hockey!




Ensuite je me sentais inspiré alors je me suis dit, pourquoi ne pas continuer dans cette direction de transparent la! Alors je me suis amusée à faire différents projets comme un tag-anniversaire et une carte. Il faut par contre faire doublement attention avec les acétates, elles ne se laissent pas aussi bien plier qu'un carton bazzil et de plus, si vous ne voulez pas que le destinataire de votre carte ait très visiblement vos empreintes digitales il faut s'armer de patience.



Et pour finir il se vend maintenant de super beaux mini-album acrylique ou acétates que l'on peut décorer à sa guise. Et une fois que vous en avez un en main il ne reste qu'à faire aller votre imagination! L'important avec les albums acryliques, de même qu'une carte transparente, c'est de faire attention à ce que l'oeil voit ou ne voit pas.

Comme vous voyez dans ce cas il y a beaucoup d'espaces ou l'on peut apercevoir ce qu'il y a dans les autres pages, mais si l'on ne verrait qu'un bout de photo avec un œil, un pied ou autre cela gâcherait certainement l'esthétique de l'album.

Bien sur, tout ceci n'est qu'un échantillon de ce que l'on peut faire, on aurait pu aussi faire une enveloppe, un signet décoratif, ou même une petite boîte à bonbons...Qui sait, peut-être vous reviendrais-je la dessus une autre fois!

Voila! J'espère que cela vous auras inspiré!

Kim Larivière @KL Dezign

Pretty As A Princess ~ Jackie's Creations

It was like Christmas when I got this months Design Team Kit! Nini puts together stunning coordinated kits, packed with products that any girl would love! This layout is my interpretation of Nini’s Latest sketch challenge over at the Posh Designs Interactive Community. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you must!

For this Layout the yummy papers are from Kaiser Craft ~ Vagabond Line! As soon as I seen these beautiful papers I had to make a layout of my daughter. First I used my corner punch on the base piece of cardstock to round all four corners. I also rounded the corners of my pictures as well.

I then used a plain old dinner plate and traced a circle on two of the pieces of paper. To spice up my circle I used a scalloped pair of scissors and cut out my circles and after inking the edges I adhered them to my base piece of cardstock along with my photos.

For the title and subtitle I used fun Daisy D’s Rubons. And the pretty glittery brackets are from Crate Paper ~ The Mia Line. The rubons that are on my photos, plus the pretty rubon flowers by my title are from Imaginisce ~ The Twitterpated Line. I then used plain small silver brads to attaché a cute transparency from My Minds Eye ~ Bohemia Line and a blue piece of card stock to my layout to make a fun pocket to hold my journaling card.

Now the flowers….I love the new Prima Flowers!!! They are simply gorgeous! The big pink flower is the new Lollipop Flowers by Prima. I then layered pretty Prima Fancies Aloha Petals and attached them to my layout using decorative brads. The chipboard butterflies are from Scenic Route. I covered them with cardstock and sanded the edges. I then used liquid pearls and dots of bling, plus small flourish rubons from Daisy D’s to decorate them. And to give them a finishing touch I made small antennas from crafting wire. I then adhered them with glue dots to my layout.


This second layout is of my Niece and some of her many toys! These fun papers are again from Kaiser Craft ~ Vagabond Line. First of all I chalked the edges of my base piece of cardstock. I then matted my photo and adhered it to my layout.

I used a pink piece of scrap paper to make a fun scalloped border using my decorative scissors. I added pretty layered Prima Fancies Aloha Petals using glitter brads. And to give this layout a playful look I decided to cut my photos plus some plain coloured cardstock in different sized circles.

I then cut a 3.5 x 5 piece of blue cardstcok and inked the edges before adding it to my layout. My title is again fabulous rubons from Daisy D’s. And using glue dots I then added some buttons. I also made some small flourishes using Perfect Pearls.

To finish it of a glittery diecut from Crate Paper ~ The Mia Line, a perfect spot to add the date on my layout!

I hope you like today’s projects, until next time Happy Scrapping!

K and Company Que Sera Sera line now in store!

Hey everyone! We've got awesome new goodies in store for you!

K and Company's Que Sera Sera Collection is just gorgeous! We've got everything from Speciality Paper to Paper Ribbons lol! You'll truly enjoy this new line it's simply elegant and just beautiful!

In stock are the following:

• Speciality Paper Pad
• Fabric Brads
• Adhesive Chipboards (Words & Icons)
• Grand Adhesions ( Floral, Butterfly, Words & Icons)
• Stitched Adornments
• Adhesive Borders
• Chipboard Alphabet Box
• Cardstock Diecuts
• Paper Ribbons
• Acetate Frames
• Charmers
• Rub-Ons w/Rhinestones
  

Here's a couple of pictures for you but be sure to check out the store for this line including all the other new goodies we've got:

Cricut Tuesdays with the McSmitty Girl

Greetings Everyone and Happy Tuesday!

March is 'birthday mania' in my household and when it seems I have accomplished a card; another props up! Just the other day I was talking with my Husband mentioning to him that all the cards are finished and ready for delivery. Then he declared, 'Oh, by the way... I need a birthday card for the 20th!'


As much I was eager to start another layout, I thought 'Another card, oh geez...' Then I realized that my Husband enjoys my work and furthermore is proud to give one of my cards out to a colleague. That just warmed my heart. So the theme this week (as it maybe obvious by now) is cards - birthday cards.


All of these cards are simple and quick to make. The instructions are described in the same manner. I promise. So here we go...


My dear friend will have celebrated her birthday by the time the post is live (Happy Belated to you, BugnBooDesigns girlie!). This card and envelope was made entirely from the Cricut cartridge Beyond Birthdays.

As usual I made the envelope (using the 'rectenvl' shape) first using the Fit to Page mode. Next I made the corresponding card (using the 'rectcard' shape) to match the envelope size. That card was cut at 6" to fit into the envelope. For the greeting 'Happy Birthday' I used the following creative features all cut at 3" - shadow blackout, shadow (yes those are 2 separate creative features) and the usual image. For dimension I embossed the greeting cut but only the usual set cut image.


Lastly for the sentiment 'My Friend', I only used 2 creative features - shadow and the usual set image all cut at 0.75" Nested and glued the matching cuts together and adhered them onto the card. Lastly, rhinestone embellishments added that special touch to finish off the card. What you do not see is the inside which was backed with a piece of cardstock (used as my note card) which was adhered to with eyelets then a ribbon was tied across the top of note card.

*Cardstock: Paper: G.C.D. Studios, Embellishments: Flower and rhinestone - Kasiercraft, Eyelets - Making Memories, Embossing Machine: Sizzix
The second card was made for a darling girl who had turned 2 over this past weekend (see what I mean by 'birthday mania')! This card was made using the Cricut cartridge Celebrations. This is a fun cartridge to use and certainly my go to for kid related celebrations. Using the envelope image, this was cut using the Fit to Page mode (the Cricut calculated the cut to be at 4-1/2"). Then using the 'squcard' image, the card was cut to fit into the above envelope.

I wanted to use as much pink as possible so my cardstock of choice was the Bazzill Swiss Dots in 'Blissful' from the Blissful Trio pack. The cardstock was trimmed to be the base for the focal point of the card. That focal point I chose was the number 2. This was cut using the standard '2' image (no creative feature used) at 2-1/2". To add some punch I cut the matching layer (i.e. the '2-s' image), nested and glued the pieces together.

Next was the tag shape. For this image I used the Cricut cartridge Tags, Bags, Boxes and More. The image I chose was the 'circle-h' shape using the 'mirror-window' creative feature. This cut was done at 1". Afterwards, I scored, folded and glued the tag together then punched a hole for my ribbon accent.

Next I wrote my greeting and the girl's name and dotted the inside window tag for some whimsy. To complete this tag I tied my ribbon and linked the tag to the number 2 together. Together these images were adhered to the card using pop-up sticky squares.

*Paper: G.C.D. Studios, Additional Cardstock: Bazzill Bling, Marker: Sharpie, Pop-Up Sticky Squares

The last card was created for my Husband's colleague.

Using the Cricut cartridge Walk In My Garden the envelope, card and flower image were all created. First, the envelope was created using the Fit to Page mode after choosing the envelope-2 shape. After the envelope was prepped for the corresponding card; it was cut using the card-2 shape at 4-1/2".

For the front of this card I chose the daffodil image using the 'card' creative feature. To ensure this cut and the remaining layers were to be nested properly; all cuts were made at 4-1/2". Next I cut the layers for the flowers using the 'card-2' creative feature but in shift mode. For some added whimsy I embossed the inner flower part prior to assembling the flower together onto the card front.

Next I adhered the cut from using the 'card' creative feature onto the card front then nested and glued the flower parts onto that last creative feature cut. To finish off the card, I stamped a greeting on the front and the sentiment 'Happy Birthday' on the inside.

A quick tip with this cartridge: When layering images on its own or onto a corrdinating card like shown in this project; keep your size dial at the same height. That way all your cuts will fit onto one another proportionally. No need to make any calculations or guesses here.

It's that simple, easy and we're done!


Another quick tip: To maximize time when creating a card and corrdinating envelope, choose a cartridge that has both images and use that one cartridge!

The guess work work is taken out for you and there is no need to 'hot or cold swap' (i.e. switching out cartridges while your machine is still on or off). If you have a cartridge that has greetings and sentiments along with card and envelope images all on one cartridge... Well then you are completely set and ready to go!

Before I end this post I want to encourage you to visit me at the Posh Designs Interactive Community Site. It's FREE (and who does not love the word 'free'?)!

Become a member today and take a look at my page, 'The McSmitty Girl'. There you can see more of my Cricut creations which are all tagged by cartridge. Check out the gallery feature to see what's there. Many of the projects I have created are not posted here. Come over and say Hi; I'd love to hear from you! While you are there, enter your creations in the Posh Designs Monthly Contest - you can win a fun shopping spree.

For more details, please visit us at the Posh Designs Interactive Community site. Until next week... Happy Crafting!

Frugal Fridays - A little help from my friends

Hello ladies... did you know it's Friday the 13th! again :-D We had one last month and we're *lucky* enough to have another one this month. I'm a little strange as I do think it's not a bad day at all.

It's that time of week again where I'm going to offer you some sage advice about saving a bit here and there while directing you to some things that will hopefully help you in that endeavour. I feel like the GPS for Posh Designs *lol* Don't forget to take a right turn at Savings Lane while you're in town.

First off, our clearance section has been updated once again! The marked down goodies are on the express train out of town and you'll want to get them before they are gone for good. Every penny counts when you're shopping for scrapping goodies.

Secondly, there are still some great lots in our posh kits section, that have been marked down dramatically from the original retail price. You won't find these anywhere else but here! Get them while you can.

Where else will you find the Imaginisce Fairest of Them All Line for just $60!!! We're talking the whole line here, including an album. Perfect for the little princess in your life. This set regularly retails for $90, that's a 30% savings, where else but here will you be able to find that???

And lastly, check out our online community where we've got some great stuff happening. Not only is it the place to enter in our monthly contest (where you can win free stuff!) but we've got a community members RAK/swap going on. Do you have goodies that you no longer use or need? is there something on your wishlist? Take a wander over to the community and check out the various events going on. You never know what you might find. I'm looking forward to seeing you there.

Cricut Tuesdays with The McSmitty Girl

Hello Everyone! Hope you are having a great start to the week. For this week's blog post I created 3 projects using my Cricut machine ~ 2 layouts and 1 card.

My niece (on my husband's side) has turned 14! It is incredible how time files as I still remember her to be only 5 years old when we met... WOW! In honour of her birthday I created this cute yet simple card.

Here are my instructions:

For the card and envelope I used the Walk In My Garden cartridge. I created the envelope first using the 'Fit to Page' cut mode and as a result, Cricut measured my cut to be at 4-3/4".

Remember my tip from last week? If not, read my previous post for my quick tip when making cards and coordinating envelopes.

Next was to cut the card shape. Scored, folded and glued everything where needed. Next I created my base for the card by just cutting a square mat measured at 4-1/2". I wanted this card to have some pop; so I embossed one-half of the square mat with my Sizzix Big Shot using the Tiny Flowers Texturz plate. Inked the raised embossed area in white then heat dryed to speed up my creation timelines. Then I adhered a floral patterned paper on the top half of the card.

For the charm embellishment I used the Alphalicious cartridge cutting out the 'r' letter in the 'crown tag' creative feature at 1-3/4". To emphasize that charm I cut a 'scallop tag' using the shadow feature at the same height size. Threaded a ribbon through, knotted the top and adhered that onto the card separting the top from bottom.

Lastly the sentiment 'Happy Birthday' was cut using the Doddletype cartridge - first using the shadow creative feature then normal font feature (all cut at 2"), nested and glued them together before placing it onto the card. Done! How simple was that, eh?

My 1st of two layouts is titled 'Adore' ~ an emotional dedication to my son!

At first I thought the picture was 'not right' because it did not show any physical features just shadows. But in fact, it was perfect because it captured one of the many kisses I give my son daily because I adore him so much!

The papers and cardstock used is from the DCVW collection Latte Stack (all patterned papers) and Cardstock Stack (all colored cardstock including metallic and giltter). This line of papers is just so darling, sophicasted and ever so versatile.

I'll start with the photo mat. Using the Storybook cartridge I cut out the 'marquee-4' shape using both the shadow and usual shape creative features - nested and glued the shapes together. For the title I used the Home Decor Solutions cartridge. For this cut I chose the 'Fit to Length' cut mode to ensure my image was cut at 6-3/4" in length. Then I used all creative features found on this cartridge (i.e. Shadow, Blackout and usual), nested and glued the words on top of each other to adhere onto my layout. I repeated the same process for the butterfly shape which was cut at 2-3/4" then to embellish I placed some Kaiser Craft Pearls. Don't you just love how the creative features work so in sync with each other? I do, it's 'adorable' (mind the pun)!

My second layout is inspired by the Posh Designs Sketch #2 Challenge which can be found on the FREE Interactive Community Site!

For this layout all the papers used were taken from the DCWV The Green Stack. This is a fabulous stack with cute and sophiscated patterns mixed in! Plus it is enviromentally sound product whereby the papers were manufactured using 70% recycled paper!

This layout is titled, 'stair CLIMBER' because once my Son started to walk he wanted to climb stairs... all the time! The title was cut using the Cuttin' Up cartridge with the Sans Serif creative feature. All letters were cut at 1". That's it! Easy peasy.

Until next week, please visit the Posh Designs Community/Forum Site. You should see all the great creations posted in the Gallery! There are also a few sketches there to help inspire and get you started. Plus, there are discussions and a fabulous Design Team to help you along the way (which I am so proud to be a part of). Come and check it out today!

Frugal Fridays - Show me the money!

March is time for spring cleaning. Clearing out the old and bringing in the new. I'll be looking at various aspects of that this month, from Posh sales to organisation tips to helping you save a buck or two along the way!

Our clearance section has been updated! Lots of great deals and you'll want to get them before they are gone for good.

Thirdly there have been some great lots added to our new items section, one of which I want to draw your attention to before it's gone. There's only one left and you'll want to snatch it up before anyone else gets to it!

The K and Company Amy Butler Tea Box Gift Set w/Tote & Caddy

I purchased this back before there was this great deal and I still think it was worth it! The papers are phenomenal, the pictures just don't do them justice. I really wanted you to know how awesome the glitter pages are and that the foiled pages are gorgeous. The pages really do pop and sparkle and they are just so lovely. Perfect for a spring album.

The co-ordinating embellishments are superb. The chipboard package contains 3 full sets of the alphabet, extra vowels and numerous flourishes that are just "wow". These are not flimsy letters, they are made to last.

The ephemera die cuts are the cutest! There are journalling tags, decorative flowers, various shapes and items. As you can see there is a pair of scissors and a camera in there! Everything co-ordinates so beautifully.

The fabric covered brads are BIG and I mean bigger than the size of my thumbnail big for the big ones. The grand adhesions flower embellishments glitter like there's no tomorrrow, which if you don't get this set now there won't be *lol*

Nothing in this set is small, nothing! except maybe the price. A value of over $120 for less than $75.. doesn't that make you want to yell out Show me the money!!!

Precious Kitty ~ Jackie's Creations

I spy with my little eye a kitty named Precious! This is a layout of my cat Precious. As soon as I seen this cardstock from the Fancy Pants - Daydreams Collection in last months Design Team Kit, I knew it was the perfect piece of cardstock for this project!


To start this layout I distressed all the edges of the paper. I then added the cute bird transparency frame from My Minds Eye - Bohemia Line. I chose to use it as a pocket to hold my journalling card.

My title is made from the fun fuzzy Making Memories - Felt Alpha Stickers in Green. I just love the stickers they give layouts dimension and warmth. Once you use them, you will want a package in each colour!

I then matted my photo on plain pink cardstock and adhered it to the layout. Followed by some gorgeous blue ribbon from the Pink Paislee - Sweet Cakes - Ribbon Set I really love this ribbon. It is so cute and wonderful to work with I highly recommend it! I then added a flower from my stash and a couple bling dots!

I hope you like the layout, and this gets you in the scrapping mode. I can't wait to see some of your creations over in the gallery in the interactive community!

Happy Scrapping!

Cricut Tuesdays with The McSmitty Girl

Hi Everyone!

Last week my family and I travelled to the city to visit with my Mom for a few days and wouldn't you know that I forgot to pack my scrapping supplies (you can read more about it on my blog located in the Interactive Community)! So here I am with 3 new projects all using the Cricut in some fashion.

'You are the centre of my heART' was a quote I read in a magazine where the scrapper dedicated her craft to her family. It was profound to me and have remembered the quote ever since but had no way to make a creation out of it. So with using the Kaiser Craft Flourish Frame Set it was the perfect canvas to decorate this quote. The papers used for the frame is 'Bittersweet' from Basic Grey (one of my favorite lines).

I still had plenty of product left over from my DT Feb Kit for embellishing except for the pearls used (they are also from Kasier Craft). The quote was cut from my Cricut using the Sans Serif Solutions Cartridge.

The first cut was with the Blackout Creative Feature at 0.75" then I repeated the same size cut at the usual font setting. Nested and glued the letters together and spread them throughout the frame to carry the eye from top to bottom. Arranged my pictures to correspond and volia! C'est fini!

'A Shelter Bay Christmas' is my long overdue Holiday layout. I had difficulty getting my pictures (a whole other story in itself). Here was my opportunity to expand my 12x12 usual page layout and try using a different type of page protector. You see, I felt there were some pictures that could not be altered into anything smaller than a 4x6 size without taking out something important.

Therefore I combined both types of layouts to create this massive one (my biggest to date). For my title I used my Cricut and the Blackletter Soultions Cartridge and cut out the letters using the Shadow Creative Feature at 1-1/4" then I nested and glued the same letters in the same size cut out at the usual font setting.
The mats (for the subtitles and journalling) were created using the Storybook cartridge.

I chose 'marquee-4', nested and glued 2 mats - one cut out with the Shadow feature then afterwards the usual shape setting both at 6". I had to make slight cuts once glued as they did not exactly fit smoothly in the premade slots. The subtitles were created from the Opposites Attract cartridge using the Upright and Opposite fonts both in Shadow and usual settings. All letters were cut between 1-1/2 to 2", nested and glued together for additional pop.

*Paper used for this project was Basic Grey 'Figgy Pudding' and American Crafts Cardstock 'Christmas' pack. Additional stickers are from American Traditional Designs, Jolee's and Karen Foster. Journalling Card from first page of layout: Maya Road

My last project was created for my Mother-in-Law as we are attending a Baby Shower in a week or so. If you recall in my previous post, I used the Kasier Craft paper from the Reminicising collection as well as embellishments from Cosmo Cricket and Prima all taken from my DT Feb Kit (still maximizing my product)!

So in keeping in the same theme as my Baby Shower ensemble, I created a card and coordinating envelope using the same collection of paper from Kasier Craft (actual paper titled Treasure and Hold Dear). Again with my Cricut machine I used the New Arrival cartridge starting with the envelope cut. I used the 'Fit to Page' cut feature to ensure I can create the biggest card possible while fitting into the envelope (I chose 'envelope-2' in this case. The cut was calculated at 5-3/4". With using that same meaurement I cut out the 'card-2' image at that size with the Blackout Creative Feature.

*Quick Tip: Cut your envelope out first using the 'Fit to Page' cut feature, remember the size of that cut then proceed to cut the coordinating card in that size. You will get a perfect fit everytime!*

To finish I cut the sentiment using the Shadow and usual font features at 1-3/4" (still using the same Kasier Craft papers), nested and glued my words together onto the card. Lastly I embellished with a butterfly cut - first was the Shadow Creative Feature, next cutting at the usual shape setting and lastly cutitng the layered piece all at 2" to keep the proportions the same. Finally nested and glued that shape onto the card with a bit of decorative touch from my marker. To adhere the envelope, I am using the Prima cardstock adhesive embellishment.

*Another Quick Tip: You do not need to calculate sizes when layering with the Cricut. Just keep the size dial at the same measurement - just change your creative feature. Instant 'pop' everytime!*

*Paper used for butterfly shape: Stampin Up

Actually, I do have one other project I want to share (in fact, 2) but they are for birthdays coming up in the immediate future. You know who you are! So I will save those pictures until the end of the month.