Breaking News Card

I made this retro card for my best friend’s birthday, but it could be easily adapted for many different occasions. Both the television card and the envelope SVG files were free thanks to SVG cuts. Click here for the free files. I used Photoshop for the sentiment, added some bling and faux stitching and was done. Super quick and easy card!




If you want to use your Cricut for this card, there is the cutest television on page 118 of the Disney Mickey and Friends cartridge. Be sure to check it out below.



Have a great day and please stay tuned for a fun new video!

Thanks A Latte!

Today, I want to share with you my design project for Creative Critterz Imaginations blog.

I made this cute cup as a thank you gift for my friend. This project was so much fun and could be used for any occasion.

First I made a sheet of paper using the Imagine Audrey cartridge.(I know, I keep repeating myself, but I love that cartridge!)

Next, I made the cup using a template from the Scor-Pal website and the new and improved Scor-Pal. Click here to get the free template.

Once I assembled the cup, I attached a homemade rosette, added a printed sentiment, a chipboard heart and some rhinestones. A small stamp would also work for the sentiment. All that was left was to fill it with candy. If you use unwrapped candy, you could wrap the cup in cellophane and add a bow. I couldn’t resist eating chocolate while I made the cup which made it more fun to make!

Recipe:

Imagine Audrey cartridge
Homemade rosette
Printed or stamped sentiment
Glue stick
Rhinestones
Cellophane bag and ribbon
Most importantly…chocolate!

Thanks for visiting and have a great week. To see my video comparing the brand new version of the Scor-Pal to the Martha Stewart score board please click here.

Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend.

Terrifically Talented Thursday

Welcome to Terrifically Talented Thursday! Can you believe it is Thursday? This week has flown by! Today I am spotlighting a couple of fun craft videos along with some wonderful blogs that I just discovered and think you will enjoy! Here are my weekly picks.



I love butterflies and this amazing card by Kristen Swain showcases them perfectly! I just discovered her blog Blankety Blank Blank and love it! Stop over for a visit and you will love it too!

Creating in Carolina is a fun blog that features beautiful and fun cards. I know you will love Cely’s site as much as I do.

I fell in love with this slider card video. For detailed instructions, visit her blog, Scrappy Sticky Inky Mess. The free downloadable instructions are posted on the right hand side. Her instructions are so easy to follow and I can’t wait to make a slider card!

I love gable boxes and found this how-to video by Splitcoaststampers to be one of the best. For detailed pictures and written instructions, click here. I love their site and visit often.

Most of you know that I am a huge Teresa Collins fan and this is my all-time favorite collection. Check out her website to see all her new papers. I can’t wait to get her new Cricut and Imagine cartridges. According to her blog, the release date is the first week of May for the Teresa Collins Imagine cartridge and the release for the Cricut cartridge is mid June.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you are having a terrific Thursday. Please stop in tomorrow for a fun new project.

Linda

First Look at New and Improved Scor-Pal and a Comparison to the Martha Stewart Score Board

Thanks to Diana Crick the inventor of the Scor-Pal, I just received her new and improved Scor-Pal. Several months ago I did a video comparing Martha Stewart Score Board to the original Score Pal. In today’s video I discuss the changes to the new Scor-Pal and compare it to the Martha Stewart Score Board. Hope you enjoy the video!




I also thought you might find these videos helpful:

Decorating Envelopes and Easy to Make Liners

Making Envelopes and Liners using the Scor-Pal and MS Score Board

Thanks for visiting and have a great day!

You Light Up My Life

I saw this card in the January/February issue of Paper Crafts magazine and fell in love with it. This card would be perfect to make with children or anytime you need a quick card. The great thing about this card is you can change the sentiment to fit the occasion. Click here for a link to the free template and instructions to this and several other cute cards.



Enjoy and hope you are having a Happy President’s Day!

To Do List

Today, I want to share with you my design project for Creative Critterz Imaginations blog.

I made this cute To Do list to put on my refrigerator using the Imagine More cartridge.

First, I cut the background image (page 15) at 7 ½ inches and flood filled with a different paper located on page 37. For this project, I only used the first two layers of the image.

Next, I printed several sheets of the list (sized at 5.9 inches) and glued them together to form a pad using Elmer’s glue and a sponge brush. I used very little glue as I want to be able to easily tear off the sheets. Binder clips were used to hold the paper until it dried completely. While drying, I let it hang over the edge of my table.

I cut the butterfly at 1.6 inches using the cut on page 4. Several months ago I made a video on how to emboss Imagine cuts and I used that technique to emboss the butterfly.



I used removable adhesive on the butterfly so I could easily remove it when I need to tear off the paper and use a new sheet. Lastly, I printed the sentiment and added a magnet to the back.

Recipe:
Imagine More cartridge
Embossing powder
Magnet Tape
Foam Brush
Elmer’s Glue
Small binder clips

Thanks for visiting and have a great week.

Welcome to Terrifically Talented Thursday

For those of you that are new to this blog, every Thursday, I showcase five blogs, websites or posts that I think you will enjoy. Here are my weekly picks.



Martha Stewart is featuring over 48 of her best clip art designs for free. Click here to see her entire collection. The stylish black and white papers and wrapping sleeves are featured here. I know this was originally for Christmas, but it is the perfect year round paper. I plan to use her papers to wrap my next gift.

Flowers were everywhere this year at CHA and I discovered this video on how to make baby Prima flowers with your Cricut. I love Kathy’s ideas and her blog Paper Phenomenon is amazing! So are her videos!

I bet you all have seen a number of posts and videos on how to make your Cricut mat sticky again, I know I have. However, this is the first video I have seen on how to actually make a mat. I have not tried making my own mat, but I am going to give it a try as it looks so easy.

For the best collection of step cards using your Cuttlebug, you just have to visit the Cuttlebug Spot. Each card was created by a very talented design team member. Wow!

Recently, I was watching the Today show and saw Danny Green. He has an eco-friendly website with very innovative craft projects. If you stop in for a visit, be sure and check out his wine cork shower mat and his perfume art flowers. He is a master at recycling and has written several wonderful books!

Thanks for stopping by and hope you are having a terrific Thursday. Stop in tomorrow for a fun new project.

Linda

Making Metallic Looking Paper Rosettes with Duct Tape

On Monday, I posted a card with a metallic looking rosette. Can you believe I made it using duct tape?

Since I made my first video on how to make paper rosettes, I have come up with a couple of new techniques that I would like to share, so I decided to do a video on how to use duct tape and decorative scissors to make the cutest rosettes ever!


I also discovered that duct tape makes the perfect Glubbers. Click here to see my post on how to make Glubbers out of duct tape.

Now that I have all this duct tape, I need to find even more ways to use it. I would love to hear how you all use duct tape!

Thanks for visiting and stay tuned for a fun and easy new project.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I modified a BasicGrey card kit and added a homemade rosette to make this cute card. I promise this is my last BasicGrey card for awhile. Can you tell I love BasicGrey? This rosette is made with a unique material and technique.

I am filming a new video (Making Rosettes- Part Two) to demonstrate how to make this rosette and more fun tips. My goal is to have the video finished and uploaded by Wednesday, so please check back!



Hope you are having a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

Imagine and Cricut to the Rescue…..Again!

Today, I want to share with you my design project for Creative Critterz Imaginations blog.

I purchased this cute Valentine’s card kit from BasicGrey and when I went to make the card…one piece was torn and one was missing. Not to be stopped, I went looking through drawers and drawers for matching card stock with no luck. Then I remembered the Imagine! I found the perfect paper to replace the missing sheet of 3½ x 7 paper. I love how bright the orange paper is! I used matte photographic paper to intensify the colors. Next , I used the Indie Art Cartridge that I received for free when I purchased my Gypsy, to cut out the lips that were missing. I cut the lips and shadow at 2.42 x 1.50 inches.





The sentiment and shadow were cut from the same cartridge at 6.51 x 1.82 inches. I love decorating the inside of my cards.

Recipe:

Imagine More Imagine cartridge
Indie Art Cricut cartridge
BasicGrey Valentine’s Day card kit

Thanks for visiting and have a great week and a Happy Valentine’s Day!

Welcome to Terrifically Talented Thursday.

For those of you that are new to this blog, every Thursday, I showcase five blogs, websites or posts that I think you will enjoy. Here are my weekly picks.



I am so impressed with the new collections from Graphic 45 and love this card designed by Gloria Stengel for Graphic 45. Her work is amazing!

I am featuring two links from Paper Trey Ink this week! The first link is an announcement regarding their new color swatch flip book! Click here for more details and to download a free page. There are also several cute projects made with the different color themes.

The second link is to a very creative video on how to use sentiments to make quick and easy cards. This would also work with Cricut cuts! Click here to view this fun and easy technique.

Flowers were everywhere this year at CHA and here is a new video and directions on how to make felt flowers using stamps from Hero Arts. Be sure to scroll down to see the entire post.

Speaking of flowers, check out this flower and video from DCWV. I can’t wait to give these a try.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you are having a terrific Thursday. Stop in tomorrow for a fun new project.

Linda

PS We’re always learning here at Paper Boutique and one of the things we learned was how to render my SCAL video so that it is clearer and sharper. To make a long story short, after many hours of trying different settings and different software, we finally have a version that is much sharper and shows more detail. If the quality discouraged you from watching the full video, please visit my SCAL post and try it again. Be sure and pick the HD setting for best quality. Thanks!

Sure Cuts A Lot (SCAL) Overview

Recently I have received a number of emails asking me about Sure Cuts A Lot (SCAL) and what it can do so I thought I would put together a short demonstration including an overview of SCAL features, how to weld, and how to quickly and easily make a shadow for your welded word.





I made this card a few months ago, but had to share since it is one of my favorites. To make this cute card, I purchased an SVG file from SVG Cuts and made the following modifications. I used my all time favorite flower from the George cartridge to make the flower, and my second favorite tool, the Cuttlebug.

I am addicted to the 8 inch by 8 inch paper stacks from DCWV because they have smaller sized prints that are perfect for making cards or smaller die cuts. For this project, I used the Café Mediterranean stack that I purchased from Jo-Ann Fabrics.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you enjoyed this brief introduction to SCAL.

Heartstrings Valentine's Day Card

Last week, I saw this cute card featured on The Martha Stewart Show and fell in love with it. In fact, I made this card for my husband. The sentiment was perfect!

It is called a heartstring card because you pull on the string to reveal a hidden message. It is similar to the cobweb type card, but a little different. Here is the link in case you want to make one.



I love the look of the card closed. It just looks like a simple valentine.



Pull the string to open it...



... then a valentine message is revealed!

Thanks for visiting and stay tuned for a new video.

Bath Scrunchie Cupcakes

Today I want to share with you my design project for Creative Critterz Imaginations blog.

Several months ago I saw a recipe for Fuzzy Spa Cupcakes on Greenbean Crafterole’s blog and modified her recipe to make cupcakes using bath scrunchies. When I got my new Lori’s Garden Imagine cartridge, I discovered it had the cutest cupcake holder so I just had to make more cupcakes.



I purchased my bath scrunchies on sale at Shopko for $1.00. Target also has some, but they are a little more expensive. I used the Lori’s Garden Imagine cartridge to make the cupcake holder and sized it using the fit- to-page function on the Imagine. It was a little too long, so I cut it to fit my scrunchie. I recommend using the larger cut, since scunchies vary in size and you can always trim the length to fit.

Next, I shaped the scrunchie to look like the top of a cupcake. Once I had the right shape, I wrapped the cupcake in cellophane and tied with ribbon. I used clip art for the cherry, glued it to a toothpick using a glue dot, and inserted the toothpick into the cellophane.

These are so easy to do and would make adorable gifts or party favors.



Here is the finished cupcake all wrapped up and ready to go!

Recipe:

Lori’s Garden Imagine cartridge
Bath Scrunchie
Rhinestones
Cellophane
Ribbon from my stash
Cherry clip art or Cricut cut

Thanks for visiting and have a great week.

Welcome to Terrifically Talented Thursday

For those of you that are new to this blog, every Thursday, I showcase five blogs, websites or posts that I think you will enjoy. Here are my weekly picks.

This is a photo of the Girls Paperie display taken by Scrap Time. For the most comprehensive photos taken at CHA, be sure to visit Christine’s blog and Flickr album. She literally has hundreds of photos taken at CHA in her album!

There is quite a buzz about the Cricut Craft Room software that debuted at CHA and thought you might enjoy reading more. The software is currently being beta tested and according to Provo Craft should be available in April. As I understand, it will be free on-line software that will be similar to Design Studio, but with more functionality. It is also designed to work with the Cricut as well as the Imagine.

Check out this official Facebook question and answer post for the latest updates.
For those of you that are not on Facebook, here is a partial listing of the questions and answers.

Cricut - The Official Page!
We'll continue to post questions and answers in this discussion topic as they become available. Thank you for taking the time to post questions.

Q: What is Cricut Craft Room?
A: Cricut Craft Room is a free online design tool

Q: How is it different from Cricut Design Studio and Gypsy?
A: While offering similar features to both CDS and Gypsy, Cricut Craft Room requires an internet connection (CDS does not) and requires you to be on a computer (not mobile like Gypsy)

Q: How much is Cricut Craft Room?
A: FREE

Q: When will Cricut Craft Room be available?
A: We are planning to launch this software in April, 2011

Q: Does Cricut Craft Room work with PC and MAC?
A: Yes, upon launch Cricut Craft Room will work on both a PC and a MAC.

Q: How do I access Cricut Craft Room?
A: When it is released, you'll be able to access Cricut Craft Room through your cricut.com account.

Q: How do I link my cartridges to Cricut Craft Room?
A: You can either link your Gypsy to CCR to update your account, or if you do not have a Gypsy you can connect your Cricut machine to your computer (using the same cable you use to perform firmware updates) and link your cartridges to your account through your Cricut.

Q: Can CCR cut with multiple cartridges at one time like Gypsy?
A: Yes, you will not have to connect each individual cartridge when cutting unless you are using a cartridge that has not been synced to your account.

Q: Can I use CCR offline? Do I need an internet connection?
A: Yes, CCR required that you have an internet connection in order to access your account.

Q: What does Beta mean?
A: When we say CCR is in Beta we just mean it's in a testing phase where we have selected individuals testing the software for us.

Q: Can I be a part of the beta test?
A: We have already selected those who will participate in our beta program.

Q: Do I have to use cartridges with CCR or can I make my own images and cut true type fonts?
A: You must use cartridges with CCR. CCR does not allow you to access true type fonts on your computer and cut them using Cricut.

Q: How will you manage the site so it doesn't get bogged down with so many people using it at one time?
A: That is what we are testing with our beta program. Will continue to test our software and the capacities we anticipate it will need to provide a good user experience.

Q: Are my CCR files available to anyone but me through my account?
A: No, the only way anyone can access your files is if they are logged into your account

Also be sure and check out Tammy Skinners ‘s Creative Critters Cricut Club website for several videos on Cricut Craft Room and the new Expression 2 Anniversary Edition.

I love the Create blog and think you will too. It is a blog for scrapbooking and crafting enthusiasts brought to you by Scrapbook Trends, CARDS, and Simply Handmade magazines. Here is a link to the August 11, 2011 Cricut Magazine design call. I hope to see some of your designs in that issue!

Diane from Capadia Designs posted photos of a new stamp line that she saw at CHA. These stamps look amazing and have tons of detail. I so want to buy some soon!

Thanks for stopping by and hope you are having a terrific Thursday. Stop in tomorrow for a fun new project.

Making Glubers and Creating Fabric and Ribbon Flowers

Cosmo Cricket just came out with a new product called Glubers. They are adhesive circles that come in various sizes … 2 inch, 2 ½ inch, and 3 inches and can be used to make quick and easy fabric and ribbon flowers. They debuted at CHA and I can’t wait to buy them as they will be so easy to use! While I am waiting to order them, I decided to make my own.



Here is a card that I made using two different techniques from Cosmo Cricket. I am such a big fan of theirs and love, and use a lot of their products. I can’t wait to purchase Glubers as soon as they are available. I also came up with a couple of new ideas for ribbon flowers using homemade Glubers.

Enjoy the video!