Over the Kitchen Counter: Angie's Place for Cooking and Crafts

Dog Wash Scrapbook Page & Making Do

I love to buy new Creative Memories products and have a big order on the way. There is a gorgeous new coverset and a great Mother's Day promotion I couldn't resist. The Better Together bundle includes both a 12x12 and an 8x8 set of albums from the Sorbet collection. It comes with the pre-designed pages in both, embellishments, a tape runner, and a pen. I love the 8x8s so getting one 'free' is amazing!

I also enjoy using up what I have and in the past year I have really hit the scrapbooking stash hard. I've been quite pleased with the layouts created just using old supplies and making them work. I just did this page with two simple photos of my dog's first trip to the self-wash centre at the pet food store. That was a great experience - beautiful, gated wash station and all the towels and supplies you need. It is so much easier, less back-breaking, and no wet, doggy-smelling towels to deal with! Anyway, Sam did really well and although he's a Lab, water is not his favourite thing. He looked pretty cute and smelled way better after a long winter!

The layout just came together! I found old bubble stickers, layered some retired designer paper, and used a die-cut from the Disney Cricut cartridge I'd made years before. It just fit perfectly! My method is to keep building and layering on the page until I like what I see...

Cricut Die Cutting

I went to a surprise party last week and it was suggested we take along a funny poster. It has been a long time but I knew the Cricut would be perfect for the sign. I pulled out the larger Cricut Expression and dug up all my old supplies, including the mats which have been used so much there's not much 'stick' left in them.

I plugged in the Gypsy (the hand-held 'computer' designer that goes along with the machine and makes positioning and sizing so much easier) and the Cricut and both worked! I searched the cartridges I had linked and found the phrases and shapes I wanted for my layout. I even added some shadowing layers although I am not sure I got everything exactly proportional. I'll need to re-educate myself how to make sure that the different layers adjust in sync as I play with the sizes of the icons.

My poster turned out great and since I had everything out and at the ready, I decided to cut a few things for my England scrapbook pages. It was really fun to look for words and pictures that would suit and then cut them from the exact printed papers that co-ordinate with my pre-planned pages' artwork. I gave the mat a quick spray with my 505 temporary adhesive quilting spray (just a touch because that stuff is expensive!) and it worked like a charm. My images cut perfectly, with no shifting or tearing. I adjusted my machine to cut slowly and with less pressure because the designer print paper from Creative Memories is much thinner than die cutting card stock.

I'm happy with what I was able to produce and add to my pages. Everything has been cleaned up now as I work on the Vintage quilt binding. I've almost finished adding the flat piping, which looks so cute, and then I have to make the binding. I didn't have enough black fabric and I chickened out when I saw how stark it would look on the quilt (the power of auditioning fabric choices first!). I chose that matching pink for the piping (I had ordered solids from the Fat Quarter Shop which go with the Bonnie & Camille lines) and a red for the binding. Both fabrics are by Moda and look terrific. I'm really enjoying sewing again but I really loved using the Cricut again too!!!!

Time to Pack!

Our home buyers firmed up and the SOLD sign is up on our house; the countdown begins! I moved every couple of years as a kid and had lots of practice packing up my own room. Even though there is so much to save for the last minute you can never start boxing up items too early. Of course I will be responsible for much most of the packing but I am not going to take on the entire job. In order to facilitate my family of packers (and avoid a constant calling of my name) I assembled a moving kit for each member.

Included in each personalized zipper bag is a sheet with instructions and tips for making the best use of expensive moving boxes. Everyone is colour coded (we established the 'legend' of colours when the kids were very young) and has been given a Sharpie pen in his or her colour, garage sale label dots in the matching shade, a new pair of scissors, and packing tape. The dots will be used to mark each box to identify each person's belongings and I will affix a giant corresponding dot to each door in the new house. The movers will simply follow the dots to find the correct location for all the boxes without having to ask me to direct them. (I hope there are no colour blind workers on our crew!).

I've also dropped off an assembled sample box with each kit so my first-time movers can best prepare their cartons, squared up and taped firmly. My DD thought this whole idea was hysterical (and fun) but I know from experience that once there are 100s of boxes stacked high in a new house, with moving day excitement and exhaustion setting in, it is critical to be able to find your favourite quilt, your toothbrush, and pyjamas!

We have about 8 weeks to get it all done and I am sure it will fly by. Unfortunately, that means a lot of the summer will fly along with it so I want to make sure we start early, take it slowly, and still enjoy the season. I'm starting with my scrapbook albums and have filled two boxes already and barely made a dent on the bookshelves. I'll tackle the dining room hutch next and then some seasonal kitchen items. I'm trying to save my workshop for last because I might just need to stitch out some blocks here and there for sanity. I already pulled out my Cricut tonight to do a quick little project I'll share with you later. Thanks for dropping by!

Awesome Brayer!

Now that I started cutting with my Cricut again I discovered that using my ink brayer works like a charm to really adhere the die-cut layers together.

Once I cut out my decorative embellishments using the Cricut, I used my Zig 2-way glue to adhere them together.  Some of the cuts were quite delicate and it was tricky to smooth down the layers without tearing them.  I pulled out my brayer, which I use for inking up large stamps, and rolled it over my die-cuts.  It applies smooth, even pressure over the cardstock and really binds the layers together!  It also helps keep everything flat and forces out any air bubbles or wrinkles!  Very useful!

Scrapbooking Pages

I finished my California/Vegas trip scrapbook album.  I worked pretty steadily on it and was quite proud I eked out enough pages from the Vintage Chic Power Palette - (one of the last ones I got from Creative Memories before it became Ahni & Zoe) and Rugged.

When I was all done, I didn't have a single sheet of designer paper left and only a few scraps from each collection.  I really liked some of the pages I completed but some were a little more challenging using what I had to embellish.  I also used up some Disney 'Cars' stickers I had left over from years ago because there is no Cars-themed ride in Disneyworld.  They worked great to decorate my Radiator Springs Racers ride photos!

I ended up using quite a few Cricut cartridges, including Life's a Beach, Traveller, a Halloween cart, and a Pool Time one.  Here are a few of my layouts.  I think I've had my fill of scrapbooking for a little while!

Scrapbooking with an old friend...

It's been a while since I scrapbooked and even longer since I used my Cricut to make some die-cut embellishments.  With my wonderful trip to California and Vegas fresh on my mind, I was excited to get the photos into an album and actually looking forward to scrapbooking with my old friend, Cricut!

I must admit I was a little rusty.  I sparked up the Gypsy but it seems since I last did an update that the 'layers' feature is not working - for example, the shadow background is not cutting at an appropriate size to layer with the icon.  I abandoned the Gypsy and decided to work straight from the Cricut using the cartridges.  It all came back after a few minutes of playing...and a lot of wasted paper!  Since Creative Memories is in the process of restructuring I am very low on paper so every piece is precious!  I decided to always do a test cut on copy paper just to make certain I was getting the size I want before sacrificing any more designer paper!

I'm having a lot of fun embellishing my pages.  I forgot how much the die-cuts add to the layout (for example, the wave in the above photo), and it's nice to customize the look however I want (I added another wave on the next page of the layout pointing the other direction using the 'flip' feature!).  I think it helped that I had already got the majority of my pages done and then just worked on adding the Cricut decorations all at once (versus one page at a time).  I moved my machine right onto my large table next to me so everything was right at hand.

The album is coming together nicely and it feels good to scrapbook again - despite the incredible mess I have made and my aching shoulders (I'd forgotten about that).  One happy discovery, despite my extremely low inventory of stickers, was the perfect title sticker for my page about meeting up with my blog-pal Stephanie: a single, small sticker with the word GRIN on it!  Not only is this a nice reference to our happy smiles but Steph's blog happens to be named "With a Grin"!!!!  Perfect!

 

Go Canada! Cricut Cartridge

It has been a long time since I bought a new Cricut cartridge so it was a total surprise when my friends gave me the Go Canada! cart as a gift.  They teased that it was hard to find one I didn't already have but they definitely got it right with this cute Canadian edition.

Here's the description of what's on the cartridge (from Cricit.com, HERE.:)

"Celebrate the spirit of Canada with the Go Canada! cartridge. This delightful cartridge is filled with Canada themed images and phrases. The whimsical font and French phrases are perfect for your cards, scrapbook layouts, home décor, and other creative projects. Use the latest Cricut^® cartridges to create unique and engaging designs for every occasion. The versatility of the cartridges will surprise even the most imaginative crafters.

• Use with all Cricut® machines
• Six Creative Features: Layer, Phrase, French Phrase, Font, Font Shadow, and Monogram
• Features Canada themed images and phrases
• Includes a whimsical font and French phrases

It's going to be so fun and inspiring to have a new reason to pull out my Cricut and get cutting.  I love the font and the icons are great - including a loonie (our dollar) and maple syrup!  And, it is so funny that there is an iconic coffee cup and donut image with the phrase 'always fresh'...my fellow Canadians will know what THAT means!  lol!  While I'm not sure I'll be using the igloo all that much (no, we don't all live in them) there are sure to be many places I can add the versatile images.  Thanks again, Kathleen & Lise!!!

Gypsy & Cricut Update

If you have a Cricut die-cutting machine and a Gypsy, do you know that you need to update the data and firmware to keep them up to date?  As new cartridges are added to the Cricut library the Gypsy needs to be loaded with the information and images from each cartridge.  There are also updates to fix problems or 'bugs' with the software or to add new enhancements to the line, such as a new type of mat size or a new Cricut cutter (eg. Cricut Imagine or Cricut mini).

It is simple to update the Gypsy by downloading the Gypsy Sync Software and then following the instructions for running the program.  You will obviously need to link your Gypsy to your computer with the supplied cable and the process does take a bit of time.  Afterwards, you will most likely need to link the Gypsy with the Cricut machine (or machines) that you own and update the Cricut as well to sync the changes between the two.

I had not updated my Gypsy in ages but suddenly realized that it does actually tell you on the home screen if it needs updating.  Once I downloaded the new Sync software (ithad been a while and I couldn't find the program on my new computer), I ran the update.  When I got back to my Cricut and tried to use my Gypsy I discovered that it wouldn't go further than the opening screen.  I was worried that I'd somehow wiped out all my data and cartridges (and there are a lot!) but a quick phone call to ProvoCraft resolved the problem.  The tech person said that I simply needed to re-install the firmware portion of the update (which somehow may have been interrupted) and she walked me through that process in a minute or two and it was all back to normal - with the new additions!

I definitely won't wait that long to check for updates again - it's always best to have these things running with the most recent information so you get the most out of your Gypsy and Cricut.  You can go to Cricut.com for more information and for the link to Gypsy and the Gypsy Sync Software (a free download).

'Enjoy the Ride' Candy Jar

I made this candy jar for the staff where I get my car serviced.  I used my Cricut to cut out the saying and icon using the Graphically Speaking cartridge and some brown vinyl.  I stamped the tag using the Curly Cute stamp set from Stampin' Up and added it with some linen thread to the brown felt ribbon.  I filled the candy jar with some holiday mints - individually wrapped so they stay nice 'n fresh for each person who takes one!

Christmas Scrapbook Layout

With Christmas just over a week away I thought I'd better get last year's holiday photos scrapbooked.  For some reason, they are my least favourite layouts to do and I (obviously) procrastinate when it comes to getting them done.  I thought the Holidazzle Paper and Photo Mat pack and embellishments from Creative Memories might help inspire me and they did make for a cute 2-page spread.

I cut my title using the Christmas Cricut cartridge and I cut the year 2011 using the Designer Calendar cartridge - I happened to get both in a bundle with my Cricut rewards points.  I added several photo mats and I'll sprinkle in some shape-cut photos around the full-size photos.  I popped up some ornament embellishments and added a bit of Dazzling Diamonds glitter to a few spots.  The last thing I did was use a small hole punch on the top of the ornaments so I could add a tiny piece of wire...that idea was stolen from my friend Diane who used the technique on her Christmas cards this year.  Very cute!