Christmas Cards - again :)

I said I was going to design a couple of Thanksgiving cards, but once again I ended up doing Christmas cards:) I love the reindeer on the Joys of the Season cartridge - there are 3 styles, and they are so gorgeous! The swirly Christmas tree from the Christmas cartridge is another favorite - so I just had to make more Christmas cards.

The patterned paper is "Vintage Blue Strokes" by the Paper Studio, purchased at Hobby Lobby, and I used it on both cards. The sparkly cardstock paper is from the Core-dinations Couture line, from JoAnn's, and is so pretty in person. I also used it on both cards. (It cuts like butter on the Cricut!) The star atop the Christmas tree is a silvery button from JoAnn's.

On the Reindeer card I attached Jolee's Swavorkski crystals to the middle of the two larger snowflakes. To make the antlers even more sparkly I used the Clear Star gel pen over them. On the hooves I added Tiara Stickles, and at the bottom I used a wide tip Zig glue pen to make strokes, then added white glitter to make it look snowy (doesn't show up in the photo very well).

IMAGINE that!!!

My IMAGINE was delivered yesterday! I am SOOO thrilled - I can't wait to start using it. But, I have to find space for it first :(  That will take a day at least...)
And you know I will be posting whatever my first project will be as soon as I have created it!

Christmas Cards using Cuttlebug

My intentions were to design some Thanksgiving cards, but somehow I ended up making Christmas Cards! I used the Cuttlebug on all three of these cards. The paper I used is really beautiful, but I just couldn't capture it in these photos. It's irridescent and has a swirly design which reminds me of snow swirls - I bought it at Hobby Lobby so I don't know the vendor. But it is definitely gorgeous in real life! I was a little lazy on these cards - I used white textured already cut-and-folded blank cards from Hobby Lobby as my bases ;)
On the card with the bird, I used Tiara Stickles to add definition to the cut and pop-dotted it. On the reindeer card, I used the Swiss Dot folder on the background mat and on the reindeer. I used Clear Star gel pen on the antlers, and Stickles on the hooves. Using the wide point Zig glue pen, I stroked glue across the bottom and sprinkled with white glitter (to create a snowy look).
The Merry Christmas card is white-on-white with red accents. This card was very hard to photograph! I cut "Merry Christmas" using the Wild Card cartridge. The paper is the Cor-dinations Sparkle - and it cuts very easily on the Cricut. It is the same swirly snow paper on all three cards (I love it!).

Long Time, No Post

It has been a month since I have posted. So much going on the last four weeks - but, I'm back now!!!
I made this card a few months ago, and cannot remember which cartridges I used.  It's called a Tri-Fold Shutter Card, and if you would like instructions, just send an email to me at rezinc@aol.com. There are also a few how-to videos available on youtube.com with very good directions on creating this card.

Jesus - peace giver...

Kelly and I recently taught an "Inspirational Card Class" at the beautiful Church of God on the east side of Columbus. There were twelve lovely ladies in attendance and we had an awesome time of creativity and fellowship! This is one of the three cards we created.

The Jesus stamp is by Stampendous, the oval scalloped punch is Marvy, and the double loop punch is Martha Stewart. The patterned paper is from Hobby Lobby, and so is the little cross (got it in the charm section, two per pack for $1.47 - but, I got lucky and the charms were on sale for half price). This card is simple, but one of my favorites, mostly because of the stamp. Thank you for stopping by!

Tim Lane

Not a card, or a layout, I just want to share with you the link to hear my cousin Tim Lane sing at his church in South Carolina:
http://beachchurch.org/#/listenwatch/video-worship
Choose July 18 from the worship service menu, and Tim sings the first opening songs of worship. Tim is the son of my beautiful first cousin, Carol, on my father's side of the family. My heart swells with pride every time I hear him sing - he is so talented, so handsome, and such a good Christian. He has no clue how deeply he touches my heart!

August layout page

In one of the groups I belong to, I am one of the people participating in a "calendar crop". There are 12 participants (12 months, 12 people :) - we each get a specific month to create a layout for. My month is August. I incorporated various icons that remind me of summer: green trees, green grass, the sandy beach, the ocean, the mountains, strawberries and apples, hot sun, cold lemonade, sunglasses. I also wrote a little verse and included it in the layout. I cut everything on my Cricut using these cartridges: Plantin Schoolbook, From My Kitchen, Just Because Cards and Doodlecharms. My photo isn't a very good one. I am going to retake and repost it within the next couple of days.

Editing Photos - PrintShop Deluxe

Quite a few people have asked me what program I use to do photo editing. I actually use two: PrintShop Deluxe and Adobe Photoshop Elements 7.
   Elements 7 is a very intensive, high learning curve program that produces fabulous results. It is not for the faint of heart or people who don't have a lot of time. It's most often used by professionals.
   PrintShop Deluxe is very user-friendly, and is perfect for those who just want to do basic touch-up and special effects. It has a lot of free clip-art and templates, or you can design your own. It also has two text features which enables you to create really neat text effects. PrintShop Deluxe is very affordable and quick and easy to learn.
   PrintShop Deluxe can be bought at Staples or OfficeMax. It is also available at http://www.broderbund.com/ (where I usually buy it). This program is so fun to use and you will love all the creativity you can add to your photos and layouts!

This is a picture of my daughter Shawna, taken at a family picnic. I want to use it on a scrapbook page, but with a totally different look. I open up PrintShop and place the photo above onto the page.

The first thing I do is correct the color - very easy to do in PrintShop. Next I add a soft edge around the image. I then add a light blue "radiant glow" around the photo. My final touch is to use the headline feature of the program - I type her name, add a color inline and outline, add a curve and a drop shadow. Voila! In just a few steps I have created an edited version of the original photo!

Dinner invitation with Wall Decor cartridge

Many days later, I finally created a card using "Wall Decor"! I used Bazzill Pink for the base, Core'dinations Black/Pink for the layer, the Chandelier (cut with Wall Decor) and the word "you" (cut with Beyond Birthdays). Three pink bling stones attached to sheer black ribbon across top; and 3 smaller black bling for the elliptical dots under the word you. I outlined the chandelier with Clear Star Sakuro gel pen, used Crystal Accents for the hanging crystal, and a gold gel pen for the candle flames. The pink paper with black chandeliers is by Paper Studio. The outside says "you...:, and on the inside it says "are invited to a celebration dinner, blah, blah, blah....." Thanks for looking and have an awesome day!

New Stuff :)

I recently won the cartridge WALL DECOR AND MORE on ebay (for a great price) and I LOVE IT!!! What an awesome cartridge! My next post will be a card or layout using Wall Decor & More...
The pink Bone Folder by MS was just too cute to pass up when I was at Michael's yesterday; I just HAD to have it. I mean, look how cute it is... it even has bling on it (that's why I put the close-up picture in this post - you just have to see the bling :)

Class Project

This is a quick and easy project I made for our upcoming Technique Class. I used Plantin Schoolbook and Paisley cartridges. The rim was created with a Martha Stewart punch - but I can't remember the name. Heidi Grace paper, A Little Birds Tale line, Paisley design; Bazzill blue card stock. The kit includes the items in the photo - ready to assemble! The photo on the right is :)obviously:) the finished project:) If you would like the cut file send an email to me rezinc@aol.com!

Thank You For Being You...

There are so many wonderful people on the Cricut.com message board, so they all were the inspiration for this card.The patterned paper is left-over pieces of the Paper Studio Meadowsweet line, ribbon from JoAnn's, bling from Hobby Lobby, Bazzill cardstock from Michael's, Cats Eye inks, and sentiment from Stampin' Up. Thanks for looking and have a blessed day!