My newest organization project

Hi, my name is Brandi, I am an anal paper crafting addict that loves to find new ways to organize J. I LOVE my cartridge handbooks, but I HATE having to flip through them to look for images or the different fonts. So I read on a Cricut MB post about how some people put the printouts of the handbooks in a notebook so all of them are handy. Well, I just thought this was a great idea. I found a post where a lady had sized the handbook pages so that you could print 9 pages and have all of the images from the handbooks. I downloaded the .pdf files for my 35 carts from mediafire (I think) and printed them off. I purchased a 3” binder, 200 sheet protectors (it takes 5 protectors per full cart handbook – only one for the solution carts, of which I have one), and one package of tri colored post it flags (NOT the labels – they were much more expensive and you got less. I got 60 for 3.97 as opposed to 24 for 4.97). I simply put the pages in order and made sure that I had the back page flipped so that when I flip through the book I don’t have to turn it back and forth, I can just simply set it on my desk and flip through all images. I used the flags as tabs and wrote the name of the cartridge on the tab, keeping them in alphabetical order. OK, I am telling on myself, but oh well...I am SO ANAL that I used my cutting mat as a guide as to where to place the tabs so they would be evenly spaced…isn’t that sick?! LOL!!

A few things I am planning on doing is adding a picture of the overlays and cheat sheets (if I can find them). The fifth protector only has one page in it and most of them have room to add the overlay and then I can add the cheat sheet to the backside of it. I am also planning on going back through them and numbering them using The Pink Stamper’s method (If you do this make sure you check the overlay, some of the books don’t work that way). Well, I hope you like it…I love comments so let me know if you have any! I am a big girl and can take constructive criticism too, so if you have better ideas PLEASE let me know! Oh, if you want the link to the MB post directing you to the reduced sized handbooks please leave a comment but make sure to provide your email address so I can reply to you. Thanks for looking!

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My first Stampin' Up! party

I have never been into stamping, but since I have started making cards I have found myself wanting stamps for sentiments on the inside of the cards.  I have a friend that is into stamping and she invited me to a workshop on Saturday, so I went to check it out.  We made 6 cards and had a great time doing it.  I thought I would share the cards we made.

 

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A Sympathy Card

For a friend whose brother passed away unexpectedly.

Made card and envelope using Wild Card cartridge, Scallop (#1 pg 32) and the frame and icon from Tweety (#16 pg 47) for the inside of the card. Cut envelope first using fit to page option which cuts at 3 3/4". Followed by cutting card and liners at 3 3/4"; phrase at 4". The frame and icon were cut at 3 3/4". I cut the small birdy off of the twig and used the bird from the icon instead.

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A Card for a dear friend

I have a dear friend that has recently suffered a job change and he is having a hard time. I wanted him to know that he is a great person and things will get better so I made him this card in hopes of raising his spirits. In case you can’t read it the inside says “don’t lose heart…We are stronger than we think, but it takes time to bring our world back into balance.”

Made this card and envelope using the Wild Card Cartridge, Branch (#26 pg 57) and scrolls on inside of card from Oval (#8 pg 39). Cut envelope first using fit to page option which cuts at 7". followed by cutting card, liner, and icons at 7" also. Cut scrolls from Oval at 7".

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My Children's Sermon Project

I have our church’s children sermon once a month and so this month I decided to do my sermon on “Take up your cross and follow Jesus”. We always give out candy at the end of the sermon and of course with the start of the fall season, there is always candy corn. I found these little Ziploc type baggies in the jewelry section of Wal-Mart (which were cheaper than the plain cellophane treat bags in the craft section - and you get more too) and thought…”hey, I can put candy corn in there”. Anyway so I was going to make the little tags that go on top of the treat bags and figured since my sermon was about taking up your cross and following Jesus I thought what would be better than to have a cross on the tags? Well once I got that done it hit me that I could run the crosses that had been cut out through my xyron and make stickers, write ‘follow him’ on them and then stick them back in the cut out section. What kid doesn’t like a sticker, right?

During the sermon I showed them that they could take up their cross from their goodie bag and follow Jesus. It was a hit, not just with the kids, but the adults too. I have the .cut file if you would like it post a comment and I will email it to you. I used the Celebrations and Jubilee carts for this project. I had some 8 ½ x 11 cardstock in the orange and yellow and just wanted to use that since it matched the candy corn. I just cut squares in the yellow on my paper trimmer to show through the cut out. It was a very simple, quick project. If you use the cut file please make sure to pay attention to where to place your paper on the mat if using 8 ½ x 11 paper. Here is a link to the sermon… http://sermons4kids.com/take_up_your_cross.htm

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More cards...

I have been enjoying my weekend of just playing with my Cricut. I have made a few more cards to share with you. The cupcake card is for my Mother-in-law’s birthday in Oct. The Hello Kitty card and sticker is for my niece’s birthday in November. The argyle card is for my Uncle’s birthday in November. So now that those are done I can start concentrating on a few other projects I have in mind. Hope you like them.

Instructions for cupcake card: Cut envelope first using fit to page option with Wild Card cartridge Cupcake (#30 pg 61) which cuts at 5 1/4". Cut card, liner and icons at 5 1/4".

Instructions for argyle card: Cut envelope first using fit to page option with Wild Card cartridge Argyle (#2 pg 33) which cuts at 6". Cut card and liner using blackout function @ 6". Cut Icons at 6", but wanted them smaller so cut again at 5 1/2".

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A few of my newest card creations

So I have three cards to show you…the butterfly card is for a co-worker’s birthday. The Pooh and Tigger card is for a friend’s birthday (she is a Pooh lover – I hope she likes it!). The Halloween card is for a friend who is begging me for a card since she didn’t get one on her birthday (but that was because I wasn’t into making cards yet – I just started around Mother’s day and didn’t really get into it until after Father’s day). She loves Halloween, so I thought I would try one out. Not to mention I just got my drippy goo punch about a week ago. So anyway, I hope you like them. Feel free to leave a comment or question!

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Let me introduce you to my new Scraphaven!

Here are a few shots of my new scrap room. It also has to serve as my office and my closet (LOL). I spent the three day weekend putting the cabinet and 16 jetmax cubes together to create my own scrap retreat at home. I am so excited! I have already made a couple of cards and today plan on trying a new project...tees made with images from my cricut. I will post pics when I am done. Here are the pics...

All the white furniture houses my scrapbook/craft items. The black furniture is office related and the cherry finish is my added closet space (live in an old 70's style rancher that doesn't offer much for closet space :)). A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do! Hope you like it. There are more pics on the bottom of this page.

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