Cartridge Review - Thanksgiving Seasonal Cartridge - Winter 2010

  

CRICUT THANKSGIVING CARTRIDGE REVIEW

Hiya EVERYONE, this is ♥Carol♥ ... WELCOME to my Little Creation Corner!  Today, I’d like to share my review of  the many creative opportunities found on the Thanksgiving Cricut Seasonal Cartridge.  (BTW, this cartridge review can also be seen at the Wildly Whimsical & Creative Crafting Newsletter ... be sure to stop by there to see the wonderful creations posted there monthly.)

(Please click on images to view full size)

This cartridge is part of Provo Crafts limited edition Cricut Cartridge collection for the winter of 2010 and it is filled with 31 Thanksgiving/Fall sentiments and images. In addition, there are also some layering pieces that I’ve found work well even on there own (such as the leaves, acorns, pumpkins, etc.). Since this cart is a Seasonal Mini cartridge, it comes with the cartridge, keypad overlay and a small card that depicts the available images/sentiments … and does NOT come with a handbook.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the images available …

Now that we know what is on this special limited edition cartridge … what can you do with it? There are so many wonderfully creative opportunities? How about invitations for your Thanksgiving dinner or party? Maybe decorate the meals menu … or adding special extras to your Thanksgiving table, like decorating the napkin rings or candles, cutting appliqués out of fabric to make your own place mats, napkins and coasters for your glass ware, or how about adding personalized place cards for each dinner guest? Perhaps you’d like to make a wreath from cut leaves to hang on your door to welcome visitors, or a banner to dress up your home for the holiday? What a great idea to decorate a candy jar or personalize a bottle of wine, or even a gift bag with a small token inside for the hostess if you are visiting others on this special day … and of course, this is a fabulous cartridge for making Thank You notes when the day is over and making beautiful scrapbook pages from all the pictures of this fun occasion. Whatever your choice, you’ll be delighted with the adorable designs available on this cartridge.

Here is a Thanksgiving floral arrangement I made using cuts from this cart, and this was super easy to make (especially since I already had the candle and candle holder). I took a small sheet of gold metallic tissue and covered a 4”x1” Styrofoam circle, and wrapped an orange satin ribbon around the edge … placed the covered Styrofoam on the candle holder with the candle on top, then added some sprigs of autumn leaves. This gave it a nice autumn look … but to make it something special for Thanksgiving I added the Pilgrim silhouette to the face of the candle and an ornate leaf to the base to help balance the colors. Now that it’s done, I can’t help but wonder how it might look if I had used the turkey as the focal image on the candle, or maybe the cornucopia with a picture of our family in the center, or maybe adding the phrase “harvest blessings” around the base.

I will say this, it’s amazing how adding a simple Cricut cut to a floral arrangement can really dress it up and change the whole look … and with this cartridge there are some wonderful options to choose from!

As always ... thank you so much for stopping by for a visit at my Little Creation Corner.  If you have an extra moment, please leave a comment ... I love reading what you have to say.  Your opinions really make a difference and inspire me to keep creating.

Wishing you and yours a ...

Delightful and Happy THANKSGIVING!!!

Happy Crafting Everyone!
Hugz,
♥Carol♥
Little Creation Corner

The NEW YourStory Photo

  
YOURSTORY PHOTO PERSONAL BINDING KIT


Hi Everyone ... This is ♥Carol♥ ... Welcome to my Little Creation Corner!

Today I'd like to share a new produce with you.  Provo Craft has just introduced the new YourStory Personal Binding System, available exclusively at HSN (Home Shopping Network) until early 2011. This binding system will allow you to preserve your memories by creating your own books, photo albums, and journals the easy way! You will have everything you need to create photo albums, recipe books, flipbooks, and much more. The YourStory Photo machine can bind albums up to 6 ¼” wide. Whether you want to create unique gifts, memory books, or a host of other paper crafting projects, the YourStory Photo machine is perfect for first time crafters and veterans alike.

• Binds albums up to 6 ¼” wide
• Comes with two 4″ x 6″ covers (Berry and White)
• Comes with two 5″ x 7″ covers (Lime and Charcoal)
• Use to create photo albums, recipe books, and much more

With the Your Story Photo, you can bind approximately 40 pages of regular printer paper, 20 pages of card stock and 24 photos.

You can even add and delete pages to your book once it is bound. Simply place your book back into the YourStory Photo to heat up the glue in the spine. Once you hear the beep, slide the pages out and add the additional page (s) to your book. At this point you’ll need to add a new glue strip (cut to the appropriate length) and rebind your book following the original instructions.

Although covers are available for the YourStory Photo Personal Binding Machine, you can also make your own covers out of paper, chipboard, cloth etc. However, do not use plastic, as the heat that binds will also melt the plastic.

By the way, as a safety precaution, YourStory Photo will automatically turn itself off after approximately 10 minutes if the machine is not in use.

Unlike its big brother, the original YourStory, the YourStory Photo will NOT laminate.

If you are interested in a binding system that will bind books larger than 6 ¼ inches wide and will also laminate, then you may want to consider purchasing the larger YourStory. The Original YourStory bundle is currently available for 64.99 at Cricut.com. You can find it here … http://www.cricut.com/shop/#6/58/729/3/SpecialOffers/YourStory%20Bundle

As always, thanx for stopping by for a visit here at my Little Creation Corner.  If you get a chance, please leave a comment ... I love hearing your thoughts!

Happy crafting EVERYONE!

Hugz,
♥Carol♥

Super News for New and Current Gypsy Owners

Hiya Everyone, this is ♥Carol♥ with some WONDERFUL news.  Provo Craft has just announced an incredible new Gypsy promotion that will effect ALL my Gypsy Brothers and Sisters ... and this super amazing offer will have you "doing the happy dance".  Here are the details ...

Gypsy Promo including ALL current Gypsy Owners- New Gypsy Owners: If purchased and registered by OCT 31ST

Buy and register a Gypsy by Cricut by October 31 and receive 6 free cartridges downloaded to your Gypsy – including the exclusive, all-new "Smiley Cards" cartridge (and don't forget about Gypsy Wanderings and Gypsy font cartridges that come pre-loaded on the machine). It's a $419 value!

Free cartridges include: 

1. Smiley Cards (new and exclusive to this promotion)
2. Tags, Bags, Boxes and More (not available in retail)
3. Christmas (not available in retail)
4. Blackletter (not available in retail)
5. Printing Press (not available in retail)
6. Indie Art (not available in retail)

All current Gypsy owners included!   Simply register your Gypsy by October 31, 2010 and get access to all downloads. Register at www.cricut.com/gypsy/

CURRENT GYPSY OWNERS: Downloads will be available through a special update to your Gypsy starting November 1st.

New Gypsy cartridge downloads are easy! Just connect your Gypsy to your computer and you'll automatically be prompted how to start. In just a few steps, you'll be able to download all six cartridges containing thousands of images! And with Gypsy, you'll have all the cartridge artwork and keypad overlays on your Gypsy screen, so there's no actual cartridge, handbook, or packaging.

This is such an amazing offer ... one that I am personally excited about for myself, but also for all my Gypsy Sisters and Brothers too.  If you already own a Gypsy, WONDERFUL!  If you are considering the purchase of a Gypsy, this would be the time to do it.  Just think of the value, and the hours of creativity that you will get with the 6 FREE carts downloaded (linked) to your Gypsy. 

But don't delay, TIME IS RUNNING OUT ... whether you are a new Gypsy owner, or an existing one, your Gypsy must be registered at www.cricut.com/gypsy/ no later than October 31st. 

Happy Crafting Everyone!

Hugz,
♥Carol♥

Thoughts About Blogs

Hiya Everyone, this is ♥Carol♥!  Welcome to my Little Creation Corner, and thanx for stopping by.  First, my apologies for not having posted here in so long.  I have been ill, with many complications that made my recovery a long hard road ... one that also left my creative mojo totally deflated.  But I have now recovered (yippeeee!) ... and creative thoughts are slowly returning, so pop back in again soon, as I will be adding new posts in the near future.

In the meantime ... I wanted to take a moment to talk about BLOGS.  I originally started this blog because I succumbed to peer pressure ... I didn't really have a great desire to have a blog of my own (I was having too much fun visiting everyone else's blogs), but was told it was something I should do.  I don't usually fall victim to peer pressure, but as I joined other blogs as a Design Team member, it really did seem necessary.  I have since come to enjoy having a blog and am thrilled beyond words when others visit and leave comments.  Please know that I appreciate each and every one of you for taking the time to stop by ... It truly makes the entire creating process so much more rewarding.  In fact, I have discovered that having a blog is actually quite fun!  (((grin)))

Now, back to my thoughts about Blogs ... Recently, My Friend, OKIE (and yes, I definitely consider OkieLadyBug, aka, Shirley, a "FRIEND"),  posted on her blog her own thoughts about blogs that closely mirror mine.  Since her thoughts are so very much like my own, I thought I'd share her post right here instead of trying to re-write the entire thing again and using different words ... especially since those different words would really be the same thing!  What can I say ... sometimes I am lazy too!  (((wink)))

So here is the excerpt from Okie's blog ... which, BTW, if you haven't been to her blog yet, please do stop by ... you won't be disappointed ... her creations are beautiful and inspiring, her DS cut files are fabulous, and her quick wit and humorous personality shines through in every post ... I know that if she is reading this, she is probably laughing at my words ... but still, they are true and heart felt!  You can find her blog here ... http://okieladybugsscrapnmore.blogspot.com/ .  BRAVO, Okie ... these are very wise words, and very well written ...

My feelings about blogs....
 Posted: 14 Jul 2010 08:01 AM PDT
 A few years ago when I started my blog I started it for one reason. So people could easily download .cut files without me having to email the files to them. I remember one evening spending over two hours replying to email requests and sending files. I knew there had to be a better way. So I entered the blogging world.

How do I get followers? That is a frequent question on the Cricut messageboard these days. I recently answered as follows "I don't know how ya get followers. I am hateful to my readers sometimes and talk to myself. Personally I wouldn't follow my own blog as mean as I can be sometimes." I was being totally serious too! *okie still is amazed that people wanna read her blog since she is hateful and sometimes threatens her readers* However I am not really talking to myself, the thoughts in my head just sometimes find their way into my posts *okie wishes people would stop reading her thoughts so much and wonders how many mind readers there are in this world*.

I have a love hate relationship with my blog.

I love being able to post what I create where my friends and family can see it without me having to email them pictures. When I tell one of my friends what I have been working on they will say "email it to me". But then I would have to email it to several people I tell them "I don't want to". So then they say "post it on your blog so I can see it". Well okay, that way I don't have to email it to several different people. Believe me there have been times when I didn't want to post something because I thought it looked like crap! But one friend of mine, I won't mention her name *okie thinks ScrapperDelighted gets on her last nerve with this though*, will tell me "I don't care if you think it looks like crap...I want to see it! SO POST IT!"

The hate part comes in because I am lazy! It takes time to take pictures to where they look good and then edit and then write up a post. That is one reason I don't do more video's. It literally takes hours to shoot the video, edit the video, publish the video and then upload the dang thang! *okie cracks up because she loves saying dang thang*

Now days it seems everyone wants to commercialize their blogs. They want a ton of followers and corporate sponsorship and will do giveaways to increase traffic on their blog. While I will do a giveaway every now and then I make it easy. You don't have to link my blog, post my blog, jump through hoops of fire or any of that crap; you just have to leave a comment on that post. Now don't get me wrong here, it does feel good to know people follow my blog and want to see what I make *okie is always amazed that people leave comments to let okie know they have stopped by* but for me I think my blog has now become an outlet for my own creative expression *and okie's thoughts*.

Overall I think blogs can be a good thing. I do like going to blogs of others and seeing how inferior of a crafter I am but it makes me strive to try and be a little better. Although, I don't spend a whole lot of time reading blogs because then it would cut into my time creating.

I guess what it boils down to is that I think blogs can be a good thing. I just dislike people always saying "go to my blog" so I can see a picture of what they made or what they think. Just post at least one picture and then let me decide if I want to see or read more!

And that's all I got to say about that!


And isn't that all that needs to be said really?  Thanx Okie, for allowing me to share your thoughts on my Blog too.

As I already said, be sure to stop by her blog and say hello (http://okieladybugsscrapnmore.blogspot.com/).  I know you will enjoy your visit there.  I first visited her blog about 2 and a half years ago, I loved it then ... I visit often and I love it every bit as much now as I did the first time!

Again, thanx for stopping by for a visit at my Little Creation Corner.  I always enjoy your company ... so feel free to stop by any time ... you are always welcome! 

HAPPY CRAFTING EVERYONE!
Hugz,
♥Carol♥!

My Grandson Andrew is Graduating... Congrats Andrew!!!

Greetings Everyone … This is ♥Carol♥ and I am so pleased that you are visiting me here today at my Little Creation Corner … I hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful week.

As many of you already know.  I have a daughter and a son, between the two of them, they have blessed me with 5 wonderful grandsons!  And I love all those rascals to pieces ... all FIVE of them!

This year, my oldest Grandson, Andrew, is graduating from High School ... Hurray for the Class of 2010!  Andrew has asked that I make his graduation announcements for him.  I've been pondering how to do this for a couple of months now ... but I can not wait much longer ... this announcements need to be mailed ASAP!

Here is my first draft ... I'd love to get some input ... all comments are welcome.  But please send your comments as quickly as possible ... I am on a deadline, so time is of the essence.

This is a very rough draft.  On the face of the announcement, I plan to make the cap a little larger and do a better tassel, and diploma a little smaller, maybe ink it a bit so it shows up more too.  (his school colors are black and orange) 

Click on images to see full size

On the inside of the card is his graduation picture with an overlay in vellum with the actual announcement information.  On the top of the vellum is a black strip ... in part for color contrast and to give it a finished look, and in part to hide the adhesive underneath.  At the bottom of the announcement verbage is Andrew's calling card with a picture of his school's mascot (a tiger) as a watermark behind it.

BTW ... the vellum lifts up to reveal the graduation picture.

(again, click on image to see full size)

I hope you enjoyed your visit here today and liked my Graduation Announcement card ... Don't forget, this is just a rough draft of the card ... so please leave a comment to share your thoughts with me, I'd really love to know your thoughts on this!  As always … thank you for stopping by to visit me here at my Little Creation Corner.

Have a great day, and HAPPY CRAFTING!

Hugz,
♥Carol♥

Special Sweet Treat Presentation with a Cake Plate Wrapper

Greetings Everyone … This is ♥Carol♥ and I am so pleased that you are visiting me here today at my Little Creation Corner … I hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful week that extends throughout the Easter week-end.

Over at the Cuttlebug Challenge Blog, the Sweet Treats Thursdays design team are truly celebrating SWEET TREATS with some very special packaging for your delicious goodies. For today’s offering, I decided to make a cake plate wrapper … and in this case, it’s a wrapper custom made to match my cake.

Here is the Cake

(Please click on images to see full size)

To make the wrapper, I combined elements from two separate Cricut Cartridges, the First is the Heritage cart, for the scrolly flourish, and the second is the Paisley cart for the strawberry. The flourishes were cut at 2” and I cut two of them and welded them together in DS. I also used the “hide contour” feature in DS to remove the inner pieces of the ends (you may be able to see the faint lines of the removed sections in the image below). Because the perimeter of the silver cake pedestal cake plate is so long, I was unable to cut this in just one piece … however, I was able to match the flourishes perfectly by placing them end to end and securing them with glue dots.

As luck had it … I was able to cut 3 of the 2 welded pieces, plus one other single, and it measured perfectly to fit around the plate. Note: If you do not have the Cricut Design Studio program, you could also cut 7 of the flourishes and join them end to end (depending, of course, on the size of the cake plate that you are using.)

An Image of the Cuts using the DS Program

 

The flourishes were cut using a silver metallic paper (to match the silver cake plate). I also cut the strawberries out of metallic papers to keep the same paper theme … in this case, red and green. They were cut at 2 ¼ inches and were attached to the flourish with glue dots. This was actually very easy to do … and of course, I selected to adorn the flourish with those strawberries to compliment the cake.

So, how did I make this decadent chocolate cake? OK, no secrets here, I called on Betty Crocker for some assistance and used her yummy Devil’s Food cake mix … the Cake required 2 cake mixes because there are actually 4 layers. I even called upon Betty Crocker for help with the frosting … using two cans of frosting, one dark chocolate and one chocolate fudge. After the cake was frosted, I drizzled melted dark chocolate across the top. Believe me, this cake will give you a major chocolate rush! *grin*

I then topped off the the cake with little chocolate frosting nests to help hold those HUGE luscious strawberries and poured strawberry glaze over them. The strawberry glaze is easy to make too. Simply heat 1 cup of sugar, one cup of water and 1 tablespoon of strawberry strained strawberry juice until dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly, then add in 2 ½ tablespoons of cornstarch to thicken and a couple of drops of red food coloring. Spoon the glaze mixture over the strawberries … chill until ready to serve and enjoy!

Here is the cake covered with the crystal dome

(this cake is so tall, it barely fit)

It was actually very simple to make, and isn’t that beautiful? What a wonderful compliment that cake plate wrapper is for my delicious cake! Why not give it a try when you make your next cake? I think your family and friends will be very impressed at the lovely presentation.

Don’t forget to stop by the Cuttlebug Challenge Blog to see the wonderful creations made by the other Sweet Treats Thursday Design Team members … they have truly made some amazing projects!

I hope you enjoyed your visit here today and liked my cake plate wrapper … It was super easy and even fun to make. Please don’t forget to add a comment and share your thoughts, I adore reading what you have to say … I’d really love it if you would sign up to be a follower too, your visits make my blog so much more meaningful. As always … thank you for stopping by to visit me here at my Little Creation Corner.

Have a great day everyone, and HAPPY CRAFTING!

Hugz,
♥Carol♥

Limited Edition Cricut EASTER Cartridge Review for Sweet Treats Thursday

Hello EVERYONE, this is ♥Carol♥ … Welcome to my Little Creation Corner. As many of you already know, I am a member of the Sweet Treats Thursdays Design Team over on the Cuttlebug Challenge Blog.  Today, we are featuring a review of the EASTER Cricut cartridge and it's many creative opportunities.

This cartridge is part of Provo Crafts limited edition Spring Cricut Cartridge collection and it is filled with 29 Easter and Spring images. The beautiful images on this cartridge range from an ornate cross to eggs to lambs and chicks, bunnies, lacy doilies, word images, and shadows and layering pieces of many of the images too. This cartridge also includes 3-dimensional objects (basket, cupcake holder, box) that are great for almost any Easter or Spring project.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the images available (Please remember, you can click on any image to view full size) …

You'll find word phrases and images

(lovely flowers, and look at that beautiful cross)

And BUNNIES!

(how about making chocolate bunnies)

More Images

(How fun to make wrappers for your eggs)

More Images

(aren't these adorable)

Fancy Doillies

(lots of creative possibilities with these)

3-D Shapes

(basket, cupcake wrapper, pillow box)

Now that we know what is on this special limited edition cartridge … what can you do with it? There are so many wonderfully creative possibilities … how about making the pillow boxes and filling them with yummy treats, like jellybeans? Or, making cupcakes and decorating them with lovely cupcake wrappers? Perhaps putting egg wrappers around your own brightly colored eggs? Imagine cutting one of the doilies, folding it in a fan shape, adding a few silk or hand-made flowers and adhering it to the face of a greeting card, wouldn’t that make a lovely Mother's Day card? This cartridge would also be great for making baby cards or shower items. Or, perhaps you’d like to make an Easter Tree, like I have? Whatever your choice, you’ll be delighted with the adorable designs available on this cartridge.

Did you know ... The decorating of Easter Trees is a tradition that originated in Germany? When German settlers immigrated to the States, many brought with them their Easter tradition of decorating trees, which symbolizes the rebirth, renewal and resurrection. This tradition slowly caught on in America with its origin dating back to the Civil War, and has become a continuing tradition with many American families today.

When I was a young girl growing up, our home was always decorated with an Easter Tree. What a fun treat it was to help Mom make the decorations for the tree each year … almost as much fun as finding our Easter baskets filled with yummy goodies and stuffed animals on Easter morning.

Following in that same tradition, I’ve created an Easter Tree for our home made from some of the adorable images found on the Easter Cartridge. (Please stop by my blog for details and more Easter creations.) Try making one for your home too, it’s easy and fun … and don’t forget to invite the children to help. I know they would enjoy helping to create an Easter Tree as much as I always did.

Here are some close-up views to show the details ...

This tree stands approximately 18 inches tall.  It's decorated 100% using the Cricut EASTER cartridge ... all cuts were made at 1-1/2 inches, including the "Happy Easter".  The ornaments are all double sided with an identical image on each side - this is especially great since the ornaments dangle and spin, you never know which side might be showing.  (I love that I was able to use the "flip" feature on my Cricut Expressions to make these ... that way I could cut everything at one time.)  I added coordinating colored embroidery threads to hang the ornaments.  With a little hand doodling to some of the ornaments, my tree was done.  Now how easy is that!  ***grin***

As always, thank you for visiting me here at my My Little Creation Corner. I hope you enjoyed this review and my creative offering from the Cricut EASTER cartridge as much as I enjoyed creating and sharing it with you. Be sure to stop by the Cuttlebug Challenge Blog to see the many inspiring crafts created by the talented design team members that are posted there daily.

I hope you will take a moment to leave a comment, I love hearing your thoughts … your wonderful words keep me motivated. And, if you are not yet a follower, please consider this a personal invitation to join! Thanks again for stopping by!

HAPPY CRAFTING EVERYONE! ☺

Hugz,
♥Carol♥